Abigail Bueno, president of the Dajabón Market Vendors Association, says that the Dominican-Haitian market days at the facility built by the European Union on the border continue but only on Mondays and Fridays. The plan to add an extra market day on Wednesdays hasn’t materialized, as reported by Haiti Libre. Bueno said that the Haitian authorities didn’t approve the additional day and had warned the traders and buyers in Haiti that they could risk having their goods seized. Bueno said that regardless, Haitians cross the border every day of the week to buy food, medicines, building materials, spare parts for vehicles and other goods in Dajabón.
As reported, trade volume during the two days is estimated at US$1.2 to US$1.5 million per week, although sometimes due to tension in Haiti or serious incidents at the border, the number of transactions can fall and settle between US$60,000 and US$120,000 dollars for the two days, according to the merchants on both sides of the border.
The European Union market facility has an area of over 40,000 m2 and includes a ring road and parking. On a single market day at least 2,600 Dominican and Haitian merchants converge.
Haiti Libre reports that on the periphery of the covered market, there are between 15,000 and 25,000 vendors from the two countries who on Mondays and Fridays also offer products and merchandise of all kinds. As reported, all the merchants of Cap-Haïtien, neighboring cities and those living near the border source from the cross-border market of Dajabón.
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Haiti Libre
13 March 2019