The Dominican agricultural sector has a lot of potential. It is estimated that the Dominican Republic produces about 85% of the food consumed by the population and production continues to increase.
However, the competitiveness of agriculture in foreign trade has decreased, as evidenced in the Bulletin of Sectoral Competitiveness (BCS) 2021 presented this Thursday by the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development (MEPyD).
The report, which shows indicators eight major sectors of the economy, indicates that between 2017-2020 22 products reduced their share in exports to the United States despite an increase in global demand.
These include pepper, cucumber, pumpkin, tamarind, cashew, chinola, carambola, pitahaya, celery, eggplant, banana, yam, lemon, cassava, ginger, among others. These are classified as missed opportunities.
equally, sweet potato, dried coconut, natural honey, unroasted or decaffeinated coffee, yautía, fresh flowers, melons and others are considered “retired stars”, as the country has lost market share and at the same time the demand for the product has been reduced.
However, products such as cocoa beans, avocado, tobacco, pineapple, wild vegetables, fresh fish and yellowfin tuna showed good exerciseBut their global demand has shrunk and they are considered declining stars, the report said.
“In terms of the competitiveness of Dominican agricultural exports to the United States, within the codes of the Harmonized System (HS), 14 products show to be competitive (rising stars), reflecting an increase in their exports and At the same time, there is an increase in demand in the US market. .
production
The report highlights that in the period 2014-2019 the agricultural production index of the Dominican Republic grew 24.2%, well above the growth recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean, which was 5.5%.
In terms of agricultural production, in 2019 the country was ranked number 3, just behind Colombia and Guyana and obtained an index of 118.3.
The report notes that agricultural development is one of the most important means of ending extreme poverty and fostering shared prosperity.