Cocoa
Santo Domingo.- The export of organic agro products reached US$300.0 million last year, 100.0 million in cocoa and the rest in bananas, according to Agriculture minister Osmar Benítez.
He said that the international market provides a niche for local producers and the Dominican Republic must continue advancing to profit from it.
“The world organic market is approaching one hundred billion dollars,” Benitez said.
He urged producers to be competitive to take advantage of consumers who prefer organics.
The official affirmed organics production is diversified and includes avocado, coffee, mango, coconut, oregano, ginger, lemon, papaya among others.
Benítez revealed that the Inter-American Development Bank, together with the Dominican Agribusiness Board, financed one million dollars in “climate-smart agriculture,” which is related to ecological agriculture.
According to the Organic Agriculture Control Office, there were 128,481 hectares planted with organics in 2016, with 16,089 producers.