The Dominican Association of Rum Producers (Adopron) says that more than US$125 million in rum is exported every year. Augusto Ramírez, president of Brugal and Adopron, in an interview with El Dia said that Adopron members paid in 2017 more than RD$20 billion in luxury taxes (impuesto selectivo al consumo).
The Adopron producers, nevertheless, say they face unfair competition from informal producers. Ramírez alerts that the informal market has grown from 5% to 20%, and sells around a million additional boxes of rum, while not paying their taxes. Adopron blames unfair competition for the production decline of their members from 6 million boxes to 3 million boxes over a five year period.
Adopron is campaigning for the approval of the Protected Designation of Origin (DO) for Dominican rum. They say that to be called Dominican rum aging needs to be at least 12 months and local materials used.
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El Dia
13 March 2018
