Plantains too pricey? Eat potatoes instead: Dominican agro chief

Santo Domingo.-Agriculture minister Angel Estevez on Wednesday said given the high price ofplantains consumers can instead eat potatoes whose current harvest has been abundant."Buy potatoes at eight pesos (aroundUS$0.18) a pound."

The official said the year-long drought haddriven up the price of plantains, noting that the harvests are being hauled fromthe interior to sell them in the cities for as high as eight pesos each.

"Plantains Inthe farms are being bought at seven and eight pesos and reach the market at 20.In the case of Barahona (variety) they are RD$17 in the Merca SantoDomingo," Estevez said.

He said 3,600 hectaresof plantain crops will be harvested in two months which could lower theircurrent cost.

The official said theauthorities will continue inspecting various parts of the capital everyWednesday and Saturday to make sure the plantains get to the households at alower price, noting that 15 neighborhoods are included in the plan, and will beexpand to more sectors.

Estevez spoke duringthe presentation of the study on the impact of president Danilo Medina´ssurprise visits, by the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO).