Coffee producers from around the country protested the approval by Congress of the Dominican Coffee Institute (Indocafé) at the foot of the Presidential Palace on Tuesday, 21 November 2017. The coffee producers called for President Medina to veto the bill.
The protest was coordinated by members of the Confederación Cafetalera Dominicana (Concafed) that said they had four years trying to be received by President Danilo Medina to explain to him the problems affecting coffee producers and present proposals to improve the sector.
The Concafed producers say that Indocafe does not support the interests of the small and medium-sized coffee producers. They urged that a meeting be convened with the President, so that the truth about the coffee sector can be shared with government officials. The leaders also want to make the case that creation of Indocafé will damage the coffee sector.
Carlos Ramírez, secretary of concafed said that the bill seeks to affect the board of directors of Concafed by excluding representatives of coffee grower organizations and projects underway.
Indocafe was created by a bill in September 2017 to establish policies to regulate the coffee sector and improve the competitiveness of coffee production. The bill was drafted by deputy Lucia Medina Sanchez, the sister of President Danilo Medina.
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Listin Diario
22 November 2017
