Haiti leader admits he lied to ban Dominican poultry

Santiago, Dom. Rep.- President Danilo Medina revealed Sunday that his Haitian counterpart admitted that Dominican Republic’s poultry products are of good quality and that economics was behind Port-au-Prince’s ban.

The Dominican leader’s affirmation comes one day after meeting with Michell Martelly and Haiti Foreign minister Pierre-Ricard Casimir during the summit of the Petrocaribe member nations in Nicaragua on Saturday.

He said they admitted that Haiti’s ban against Dominican chicken and eggs was strictly economic, because Port-au-Prince loses out on around US$300 million in unpaid tax revenue.

The Haitian officials were the ones who requested the meeting, Medina said, during which they acknowledged the quality of the products entering their country, adding that they requested Santo Domingo’s help to collect taxes. "They have an economic problem in this case, which leads to estimates that they’re losing three million dollars."

False claim

Haiti’s government announced the ban on chickens and eggs from Dominican Republic three weeks ago, arguing the presence of bird flu virus, but denied by Dominican authorities and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).