Partial lifting of US agro ban buoys farmers

Santo Domingo.- The partial lifting of the nine months longban that halted access to its main market has buoyed domestic producers’ futureprospects, as containers full of fruits and vegetables again head to the US.

Agriculture minister Angel Estevez said export avocados,peppers and other affected products resumed as soon as the US authorities liftedthe ban on 7 January, which had been placed on concerns over the medfly in 23of the country’s 32 provinces.

"One exporter said 26 containers have been shippedjust to Puerto Rico," Estevez said.

He said the problem with exporting now is the lack ofsupply to meet the demand for those agro products, which had skyrocketed sincethe US imposed a similar ban on Spanish peppers last month.

"Demand is so great that they lack the capacity tosupply it, because the same ban they applied to us was also imposed on Spain andare now demanding all the peppers, tomatoes, avocados from the DominicanRepublic,” the official said.