The Dominican banana sector generates US $420 million a year and creates more than 32,000 jobs, 44% of which are permanent and 12% of which are for women.
This data was revealed on Tuesday during a meeting of the Steering Committee of the Accompanying Measures for Bananas Program that was held in the Dominican Agribusiness Board (JAD).
During the meeting, authorities reported that more than 80% of the country's banana production was organic and intended for export.
The main achievements of the Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM) program, which has a budget of 1,000 million Dominican pesos, more than 900 million of which were financed by the Union European, were also presented in the meeting.
The Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, and the Minister of Economy, Planning and Development, Mr. Angel Estevez and Bautista Rojas Gomez, respectively, as well as the Ambassador of the European Union in the country, Alberto Navarro, and Osmar Benitez , chief executive of the JAD, attended the meeting.
Thanks to the goals they have achieved via this project, the National Phytosanitary Committee gave the Ministry of Agriculture a resolution which shows how much the conditions of proper management in local production have advanced and that places the country at the level of international standards for exportable banana.
The CEO of the JAD, Osmar Benitez, highlighted the growth experienced by the banana sector in the Dominican Republic through the BAM program, which has placed the country as a leader in organic banana exports to Europe.
Currently, the Dominican Republic has around 270,000 hectares devoted to banana production.
Source: lanaciondominicana.com