President Hipólito Mejía recently firmly announced his government opposes farm produce imports. The bans have affected industries that use sugar as raw material, and consumers are paying higher prices for sugar and other farm items due primarily to speculation caused by the produce scarcity. But Minister of Agriculture Eligio Jaquez justified one known import of 500 tons of garlic on a recent Channel 5 TV show. Ironically, the permit of the Ministry of Agriculture authorizing the import explains the import would be made for the Hermandad de las Fuerzas Armadas supermarket. General Yege Arismendy, of the Armed Forces cooperative, said the garlic never reached the supermarket, as the later was closed due to bankruptcy prior to when the authorization was placed. Rafael Santana, in the El Siglo newspaper, comments on the response of Minister Jaquez to a journalist request as to why the Mejia government authorized the import of the garlic to an alleged business advisor of President Mejia when imports are banned. To justify the import, Minister Jaquez said "that business advisor of the President Mejia worked hard during the campaign, and that is little compared to what he deserves." The same beneficiary of the millionaire import of garlic was director of the Instituto de Estabilización de Precios (INESPRE) during a Balaguer administration.
