Warns of possible closure of exports to Europe and EU

Agro-entrepreneur Hugo González warned producers and the Dominican authorities about the possible suspension of exports of fruits and vegetables to Europe and the United States for non-compliance with traces of pesticide residues.
He said that “currently the European Union has agricultural exports of vegetables practically closed because they return almost all shipments and the United States, our main commercial partner, is forcing us to certify.”

González said that “we should not be surprised if agricultural exports are officially and definitively closed, which would be like throwing an arrow at the Achilles heel of the producers and the country.”

González, a producer of vegetables and other items in San Juan de la Maguana, said that with the agricultural potential that the Dominican Republic has, it should be exporting four to five billion dollars a year of fruits, vegetables, and other produce.

He indicated that this does not happen because we do not have an efficient agricultural sector, competitive and, above all, that is trained.

González further suggested that to correct this situation, “the first thing we must do is plan to achieve the long-awaited national agricultural development”.

He said that a plan should be made on the basis of a totally practical framework, to move away from everything that could be considered a utopia.

The producer further explained that this plan should begin with the long-awaited technical training, “teaching our agricultural professionals, which and how to execute the key to success in this complex and risky activity”.

Pointing out that the key is the eradication of the 20 risks of the agricultural sector, González noted “calling risk to everything that could cause damage to production, by more than 50%, because under our plan, they are 100% eradicable.”

He then expressed that “in our plan, we do not talk about the technology that we are forced to use but to eradicate its barriers. We are not talking about innovation, but putting them into practice, and we are not talking about competitiveness, but about taking measures”.

He added that in the plan “we are not talking about training, but to train, not about certification, but about certifying ourselves. We are not talking about export and food security, but about abundant, diversified, healthy and economic production, which is how exports, security and food self-sufficiency are defined. We are not talking about agro-industry, but about securing the raw material and protecting our production from any eventuality “.