President Luis Abinader highlighted the great impact that the strong zero-rate deduction that would be applied to rice imports from 2025 would have
By: Ubaldo Guzman Molina and Kelvin Pascual
President Luis Abinader announced yesterday that since January it has instructed an inter-ministerial commission of Industry and Commerce, Foreign Affairs and Agriculture so that they execute all the necessary measures to safeguard and protect rice producers with forceful solutions regarding the conclusion of the deduction of the cereal, foreseen in the DR-Cafta for 2025.
“Food security seen as part of our national security, the work of our farmers and producers and everything that the productive chain of this sector represents is and will be our priority,” said President Abinader in his accountability speech before the National Assembly.
He highlighted the great impact that the strong zero-rate deduction that would be applied to rice imports from 2025 would have.
He claimed that the Government managed to reduce the interest payments of the public debt of 2022 by RD$5,523 million, as a result of the appreciation of the peso and the liability management operation.
He argued that at the end of 2022, the consolidated debt with respect to the gross domestic product (GDP) was 59.1%. and when he took office in August 2020 it was at 61 percent.
He pointed out that more than RD$87,000 million were allocated to cushion the rise in mass consumption products, expand targeted social programs and support the operations of the electricity sector and agricultural production.
He specified that during 2022 more than RD$38,000 million were allocated to subsidize the price of fuels, more than RD$4,400 million to cushion increases in the price of flour, chicken, fertilizers and other products within the food basket.
He affirmed that the free zones constitute one of the productive activities with the greatest contribution to direct employment in the country, since by 2022 it reached more than 192,000 direct jobs, the highest level recorded in the last 20 years.
He said that for the first time last year the country exceeded US$8.4 billion in foreign currency from tourism, a figure that indicates that it will continue to grow.
He highlighted the work being done in favor of the tourism sector in the Colonial City, Puerto Plata, Miches and Pedernales.
He pointed out that last year, the agricultural added value increased by 5%, reaching a value of RD$360,000 million pesos and a production that exceeds 350 million quintals of food.
He highlighted that in 2022 the loan portfolio of Banco Agrícola reached unprecedented levels: RD$49,277 million.
President Abinader added that through Promipyme, more than RD$18.6 billion were placed for the benefit of MSMEs.
Instructs salary increase
The Ministry of Labor must convene in the next few days the National Wage Committee (CNS) to achieve an increase in private sector wages that is above the accumulated inflation of recent years, the president said yesterday Luis Abinader in their rendering of accounts before the National Assembly.
“I am committed to increasing the real wages of Dominican workers,” he said.
He recalled that the pertinent dialogues are currently taking place to produce other new salary increases to guarantee that workers have a better quality of life and this is achieved, he insisted, by increasing salaries above inflation, “as we have done so far.” .
The first president specified that upon assuming the direction of the nation he found very depressed salaries and a significant gap between the nominal salary and the real salary, but that in just two years, increases have been achieved.
He recalled that the last increase achieved for the private sector was 24.20 percent. It is recalled that the tripartite discussions for a salary increase were brought forward, due to the high levels of inflation, which have reduced the purchasing power of salaries.
In four meetings held, the employers have not presented a proposal for an increase, while the trade unionists demand a 35 percent increase.
