Meanwhile, border trade with Haiti has been halted, adversely affecting the economy of the frontier communities and lessening food sources for Haiti. Dozens of cargo-trucks laden with poultry, eggs, plantain and other produce were prohibited from traveling into Haiti.
The Dominican Association of Exporters expressed its concern for the Haitian crisis, which has affected Dominican exports to Haiti, which continue to be shipped in freighters, “but could be discontinued completely if the situation worsens.” Horacio Alvarez, executive vice-president of Adoexpo, estimated a trade value between the DR and Haiti of US$100 million, including formal and informal operations. “Everything that happens in Haiti, whether we want it to or not, affects us,” he said. Alvarez explained there are many Dominican exporters that send their shipments by ground and if there are disturbances along the border, these operations are affected.