For the third straight year, agricultural exports from the U.S. to the Dominican Republic have reached a record with pork leading the way.
The Dominican Republic imported US$234 million in pork exports in 2022, a 55% increase from US$151 million imported in 2021, according to the Foreign Agricultural Service GAIn Report of the United States Department of Agriculture.
“The increased demand for pork products is a direct reflection of the severe impact of African swine fever (ASF) on local swine production,” USDA noted in the report.
Local pork production in the Dominican Republic is estimated to be 30% lower since the ASF outbreak in 2021.
Total US agricultural exports to the Dominican Republic reached an all-time record of US$2.2 billion in 2022; a 14% increase from last year’s previous record. The high demand for other meat products and consumer-oriented products was driven by an increase in the number of tourists visiting the country in 2022.
According to the Dominican Republic’s Central Bank, the country received 7,165, 387 tourists in 2022, a 43% increase from the number of tourists in 2021 (4,994,313). Reports say tourists demanded more than $150 million in agricultural products in 2022.
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Swine Web
2 March 2023