Even when the items of the basic basket maintain higher prices, the Government showed this Thursday an increase in the production of the agricultural products most used by Dominicans, which, according to what it affirmed, has been done to avoid shortages and guarantee stability in the cost of items of greater consumption.
During a press conference led by President Luis Abinader and the Minister of Agriculture, Limbert Cruz, and other members of the Agricultural Cabinet, the head of state insisted that this administration is doing everything possible to mitigate the local impact of inflation at the global.
“The most difficult conditions we have had is because this is a country with a very open economy, which means that we depend a lot on foreign trade, because with this we have managed to avoid shortages even when inflation has hit us, it is a phenomenon world,” said the president.
The president assured that this Government has focused on food security and that they are preparing to face inflation from external factors with measures such as the increase of 1.2 billion to the Social Plan of the Presidency in its budget to mitigate the situation.
He said that an additional 10.5 billion pesos were injected into direct funds for the Agricultural Bank, to contribute to agricultural financing, in addition to the 1.7 billion pesos for fertilizers.
He said that regardless of whether the rain favors production, financing plays a predominant role.
He said that oil reached the highest price yesterday at 90.00 dollars a barrel and that this government does not have the petrocaribe agreement.
The Minister of Agriculture, who was in charge of presenting the products in which production has increased, stated that a positive transformation has taken place in the sector, especially due to five factors: financing; commercialization; land preparation plan and free seeds throughout the country; fertilizer subsidy and for the work of the agricultural team that “has pushed the race towards the same place”.
Among the products mentioned by Cruz is rice, which, in the last five years, went from 12.9 million quintals per year to 14 million quintals in 2021; the banana, of which 300 million units were increased; the potato to more than 200 additional quintals; cassava more than 100 quintals; chicken at an additional 3 million; the eggs that went from 1,000 million to 2,800 million.
Also milk, vegetables that went from 12.5 pounds to 25 million; the avocado; the banana; mango and onion
The Minister of Agriculture pointed out that only two products did not grow and they are garlic, which he said was in decline and was caught at its worst moment, and pork, due to the swine fever crisis.
