Dominican Republic awaits word on vegetable pre-clearance program

Fresh Bell Pepper

Fresh Tomato

Fresh Cucumber

Vegetables

Dominican Republic

Published May 25, 2023

Tridge summary

Growers and shippers in the Dominican Republic are waiting optimistically for an action plan to help expand the USDA APHIS pre-clearance program and allow the country to ship additional commodities. Via the USDA-funded Trade Safe project administered by the nonprofit organization, Improving Economies for Stronger Communities, the final approval is on a new pre-clearance program for tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. “Dominican growers are staying patient and committed to this.

Original content

They think that bell pepper exports will explode with this,” says Brian Rudert, director of TraSa Project, the trade safe project implemented by IESC and financed by USDA. “Most of the greenhouse production right now is domestic consumption, so it’s going to create an industry out there.” The initiative stems from a five-year, $13.7 million TraSa project that is intended to improve the efficiency, coordination, and transparency of trade, commercialization, and safety of food and agricultural products. The agriculture and food sector is playing a growing role in the Dominican Republic--agricultural production and agro-industrial activity account for approximately 10.6 percent of the gross domestic product and 18.3 percent of the country’s exports. However, with that growth comes the need for more sophisticated sanitary and phytosanitary, and food safety systems to meet market requirements. Select programRudert says the work behind this initiative has been ongoing since 2021 and ...

Source: Hortidaily