MIC: There will be a negative impact on fruits and vegetables

SANTO DOMINGO. The Minister of Industry and Commerce admitted that the prohibition of exports of certain fruits and vegetables to the United States market will have a negative impact for the producers of these food items. The prohibition came about after detecting the existence of the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) in the country.

José del Castillo Saviñon recalled that as a consequence of the measure ordered by the phyto-sanitary (plant health) authorities of the United States, some seven articles cannot enter into that market which represents a loss of US$61 million. He said that although this number might be small in terms of total exports, nevertheless he said that for the producers of vegetables, mangoes and avocados among others, this represents a serious problem for their businesses. The official was interviewed by Hector Herrera Cabral on the program D'Agenda which is transmitted each Sunday by Telesistema, channel 11.