The country has lost practically all its citrus since the so-called Yellow Dragon disease began to affect sweet and sour orange crops, as well as grapefruit, and creole lemon crops in 2008.
These fruits are no longer so easily found in the fields, in the backyards of houses, or in supermarkets, because their production fell by 90 percent.
More than 100 thousand trees in approximately 32 thousand hectares were eliminated by the Huanglongbing (HLB) disease in three years, according to the Nutrition of citrus fruits and HLB management report, presented in 2014 by the Center for Agricultural and Forestry Development of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Citrus extinction
According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, grapefruit production decreased by 90%, going from 21,420 quintals in 2005 to 19,623 quintals in 2016.
Meanwhile, orange production hasn't decreased, but it hasn't advanced as much, since it has only increased by 30% in a period of 13 years.
Orange production went from 457,142 quintals in 2005 to 593,229 quintals in 2016, the Ministry noted in the Statistics on the Agricultural Sector of the Dominican Republic 2002-2016 document.
Lemon production also fell in the first years of the arrival of the Yellow Dragon disease, and in fact it finished with the Creole variety.
However, producers quickly manoeuvred with the introduction of other species, which have continued to nourish the local market and part of the foreign market.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, in 2008 the country produced 194,674 quintals of lemons, which dropped to 191,671 in the following year.
However, producers increased the area planted and production with new species.
There isn't much information about mandarins, but according to the Ministry of Agriculture production fell by 10% between 2010 and 2011, from 61,074 quintals to 51,637. It increased in 2014 and decreased again in 2016.
Source: eldia.com.do