The executive vice-president of the Junta Agroempresarial Dominicana (JAD), Osmar Benítez, appealed to the government to exempt imported capital and intermediate goods destined for agriculture from paying duties. Mr Benítez believes that this step must be taken to promote exports of Dominican agricultural products.
At times, the cost of foreign materials makes our prices very non-competitive, and in the worst of cases totally uneconomical, in world markets. Although the service sector has recently overtaken agriculture as the leading employer, agriculture remains the most important sector in terms of domestic consumption.