Authorities at the Ministry of Agriculture authorized the import of 4.7 million quintals in 2024, a move local producers claim destabilized the market.
Rice is more than just a staple in the Dominican Republic; it is the cornerstone of the national diet and a symbol of agricultural pride. For nearly two decades, the country has boasted a self-sufficiency rate of 106%, keeping annual imports to a minimum, usually hovering around half a million quintals.
However, 2024 emerged as a statistical anomaly that disrupted years of market stability, Diario Libre reports.
According to data from the General Customs Agency (DGA) and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce (MICM), the government in 2024 authorized the highest volume of foreign rice purchases in decades. Over 4.7 million quintals entered the country last year, carrying a price tag of US$152.6 million.
To put that figure into perspective, rice imports averaged just US$17.2 million annually between 2005 and 2023. The 2024 surge represents a massive departure from historical trends. What makes the mass imports even stranger is that the majority of the grain was sourced from nations outside the DR-CAFTA agreement.
The National Federation of Rice Producers (Fenarroz) reports that this massive influx took a toll on local farmers toward the middle of last year. The timing was particularly sensitive as the government simultaneously navigated the final stages of the DR-CAFTA tariff phase-out, which eventually grants duty-free access to rice imported from the United States.
While the government implemented measures to cushion the local market from the impact of cheaper foreign grain, the sheer volume of the 2024 imports created an “extraordinary period” of supply chain pressure.
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Diario Libre
23 December 2025