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BiggerIn the Dominican Republic, imports are favored
Danilo Severino
Agricultural production
The president of the National Association of Agricultural Professionals (ANAPA), Danilo Severino, affirmed yesterday that the authorities of the sector privilege imports instead of favoring national production.
He specified that imports are projected at US $ 1 billion for this year, registering a substantial increase, especially between October and November, when more than 15 million pounds of pork have been imported. The family basket (basic staples), he said, increases every day because imports have been prioritized, and he recalled that onion producers had to employ Inespre to get paid.
He considered that Christmas would be the saddest due to the layoff of more than 800 agricultural professionals left without their livelihood.
He hopes that by 2022 President Luis Abinader will fulfill his promise to replace the furloughed agricultural professionals. Severino said that those discharged had been replaced by unskilled personnel, detrimental to the sector. ANAPA put into circulation the agenda for 2022, which brings a message from its president and essential information.
The ANAPA president should understand imported products under Customs tariffs are taxed to make the cost of the imports a bit more higher than similar domestic goods. This taxing is done to give an advantage to locally grown or produced goods and to generate revenue for the government. Customs is not under the umbrella of “authorities of the sector”. Customs may relax import tariffs when production of domestic products cannot keep up with consumer demand.
If some consumers prefer imports over domestic it is their choice for whatever reason.