DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

Dominican rice growers are hoping government officials will come up with a way to get around opening to tariff-free rice imports. The authorities have set up a working group, Minister of Agriculture Limber Cruz Lopez has met with farmers from the growing regions, and President Abinader has expressed his support.

The DR is a signatory of the DR-CAFTA free trade agreement with the United States that had established zero tariff rice imports would begin in 2025.

Local farmers are concerned they would be affected if US rice competes in price with locally produced rice. Rice is a centerpiece of Dominican farming, and a mainstay for the economies of many provinces in the central Cibao region. The farmers are concerned their livelihoods will be seriously affected now that the deadline is approaching.

Curiously, there was an article in the Diario Libre and the Listin Diario that...