Updated 12:07 PM EDT, Thu, Mar 28, 2024

U.S. Lifts Ban on Certain Agricultural Products from the Dominican Republic

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Crops from the Dominican Republic can now be exported in the United States again, as agricultural authorities in Washington have lifted the import ban of all Medfly hosts from the Caribbean country.

An announcement from the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, (APHIS) cited by Fresh Plaza, stated how the prohibition of imports of several kinds of citrus fruits and vegetables has been lifted and is "effective immediately" in 23 Dominican Republic provinces.

According to Dominican Today, the Department of Agriculture Federal Order No. 2016-03 was amended to allow the said products from the Caribbean nation.

"Medfly host material for export must be transported in a sealed or tarped container from the production site to the packinghouse, and from the packinghouse to the port of export to safeguard against the introduction of quarantine pests during transport," the APHIS explained in a statement released via the American Embassy in Santo Domingo.

The statement also confirmed that all peppers, avocados, papayas and citrus fruits from the country are now allowed to be sold in the U.S. market, effective immediately, provided the products follow requisites for export.

The statement also contained APHIS General Management Administrator of Phytosanitary Issues assistant manager Michael Guidicipietro's commendation for his counterparts in the country for their efforts in monitoring and containing the Medfly outbreak.

"We applaud the efforts of the Dominican Government in the surveillance and eradication program, as well as on the release of sterile insects in the areas with outbreaks with the goal of finally eradicating the insect from the territory of the Dominican Republic," he said in the statement.

According to the country's Ministry of Agriculture, agricultural products from the eastern districts of the country were still banned from being exported to the U.S., particularly in areas where the Mediterranean fruit fly, or the so-called "Medfly," infected tropical fruits and vegetables in 2015.

The said ban, which was imposed April last year, greatly affected the Dominican Republic's economy, which Near Shore Americas deemed as "the fastest-growing economy in the Americas."

According to the website, the country lost about $400 worth of farm export revenue after the ban took effect.

Citing the World Bank, the Dominican Republic is expecting no GDP growth this 2016, after dropping nearly one percent last year.

Despite this, the outlet noted the change in perspective among Dominicans who no longer doubt the stability of their economy, and are even "somewhat satisfied with the economic development activities."

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