In his keynote address on the occasion of having been recognized as Agrobusiness Exporter of the Year by the Agribusiness Council (JAD) yesterday, Thursday 5 December, businessman Felix Garcia made the point that the Dominican Republic has not made the most of DR-CAFTA especially when compared to the success stories in Central America. He pointed out that when the treaty started in 2004, the US exported US$4.35 billion to the Dominican Republic and by 2012 its exports had increased to US$7.69 billion. Central American countries that exported the same as the DR to the US doubled their exports, but the DR’s exports to the US have declined by US$200 million. The DR also lags in inter-regional trade. Garcia mentioned, for instance, that the DR exported US$37 million to Costa Rica, but Costa Rica exported US$300 million to the DR in 2012.
“That is, Central America has taken better advantage of DR-CAFTA than the DR. We have done something wrong, and we are doing something wrong!” he declared, calling for a farm sector revolution.
He mentioned support measures in place in Central America that are nonexistent in the DR where the risk of the farm exporter falls heavily on the local business owner.
www.listindiario.com.do/la-republica/2013/12/6/302421/Revolucion-agropecuaria