The fifth edition of the Agroalimentaria 2015 International Fair of Food, Tobacco and Beverages, culminated on Saturday May 9 making projections of closed contracts for more than $350 million dollars and breaking the records set by previous versions.
The executive director of the Centre for Export and Investment (CEI-RD), Jean Alain Rodriguez, and the executive president of the Dominican Agribusiness Board (JAD), Osmar Benitez, said this year's edition of Agroalimentaria had closed sales that amounted to US $357,102,381, i.e. 68 percent more than in the 2013 edition.
The fifth version of Agroalimentaria 2015 was organized by the CEI-RD and the JAD and took place from May 7 to the 9 at the Hotel Dominican Fiesta. More than 150 companies were presenting their products at the fair and there were more than 220 international buyers from over 30 countries.
The most demanded products by the international buyers were avocados, peppers, mango, pineapple, organic cocoa beans, chocolate, cassava, rum, oriental vegetables and cucumber.
Sales of eggplants, strawberries, passion fruit pulp, cassava, fruit juices, bananas, tomatoes and jams were also good.
"We were able to increase the promotion of Dominican agro products, both nationally and internationally, in this version of the fair. The number of buyers who visited us was twice as big as in 2013 and the projection of closed sales increased by more than 68.44%," said the director of the CEI-RD.
Rodriguez said the government considers exports as one of the main pillars to boost development, and that one of their priority goals was promoting exports so that the Dominican products are increasingly marketed and more competitive in foreign markets.
Meanwhile, Osmar Benitez, executive president of the JAD, stressed that Agroalimentaria was a platform that helped incorporate domestic producers to more competitive agribusiness practices, as producers could sell their products in international markets, through the contacts between exhibitors and buyers, and be updated about the international standards through the many conferences held during the Fair.
He also said that the fair had been organized with the aim of promoting and increasing exports, and that this was the only international exhibition of its kind in the Dominican Republic and the largest one in the Caribbean.
International buyers came from United States, Europe, Panama, Germany, Russia, Japan, Venezuela, El Salvador, Bahamas, Barbados, Curacao and other Caribbean islands.
There were also representatives of England, Holland, Spain, France, and Germany as well as buyers from India, Turkey, South Korea, Romania, Taiwan, Egypt and United Arab Emirates.
Source: HOY.COM.DO