Asexbam, the Dominican Association of Producers of Bananas for Export, currently cultivates both conventional and organic, fair trade bananas, although it is more focused on the latter. “The project was started in the 1940’s by what currently is Chiquita Banana and currently has access to 30,000 acres plus an additional 20,000, of which 12,000 acres are already in production,” explains Ramón Fana, of Asexbam
Fana says that “the country is now one of the largest producers, competing directly with countries like Costa Rica or Ecuador. Asexbam has a production of 380,000 boxes of first class bananas, 90% of which are shipped directly to Europe and the other 10% to the United States.”
According to Fana, the Dominican Republic’s climate and hours of sunshine result in one of the world’s sweetest bananas. “The price for our organic bananas is higher, but demand is quite good. 70% of our production is organic and 30% conventional, making the Dominican Republic one of the largest organic banana producers.”
Over the next ten months, Asoxbam expects production to increase by around 20%. As of January 2015, the price of 18.4 kilo boxes is also expected to go up from the current guarantee price of $9.60. “There is also increasing interest from multinationals like Chiquita and plenty of support from the Government, which has trust in the bright future of the crop for the country.”
More information:
Asexbam
Ramon Fana
Tel. 829 247 1129
Email: asexbam@gmail.com