MAO, Valverde.- The president of the National Association of Importers of Agricultural ProductsIncorporated (Animpa), Pedro Espinal, stated that the producers of rice of the country are experiencing moments “of anguish and despair” due to the excessive increases registered in inputs, labor and other factors that intervene in production.
He stated that they are going through a situation unsustainable because, with the increases that have been recorded in recent months, the raw materialprofit margins have been drastically reduced, which is why he considers that the national authorities must come to the aid of the rice sector
Espinal said that he identifies with what the National Federation of Rice Producers (Fenarroz) would have recently raised, that this sector was entering “intensive care” throughout the country.
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The president of Animpa argued that the government should not “waste time” and urgently come to the aid of these producers to avoid a total collapse of production at the national level.
“The harvesters of rice They should not be abandoned because then a situation would arise that would affect us all significantly, based on the fact that rice is one of the basic foods of Dominicans,” warned Pedro Espinal, in statements to the press.
Between a rock and a hard place
Pedro Espinal explained that the rice farmers they are “between a rock and a hard place” since the cost of production was around RD$7,000 in 2021, today this is around RD$9,200 per task, which means an increase of 30% .
Espinal understands that you have to look for a new price per bushel of rice as has been suggested by the organized representatives of the sector headed by Fenarroz.
He reiterated the call to the authorities of the agricultural sector of the government of Louis Abinader so that they listen and pay attention to these claims, and thus avoid what could be a “catastrophe” in rice production in the immediate future.
