Farmers to export exotics to the US valued over 1 million dollars

Dominican farmers now have an opportunity to export over EC$ 1 million worth of exotics and fresh produce to the US.

This was revealed by Gregoire Thomas, General Manager of DEXIA last week following his return from a market visit to Miami to negotiate marketing contracts and arrangements with the buyers involved in the Caribbean Trade and Expansion Project (C-TEP).

The C-TEP project is a USAID-funded programme designed to assist selected OECS countries increase and expand their exports of exotics to the US, UK and other regional markets. The 3-year project is being coordinated by the North South Institute and the Global Strategy Group with DEXIA acting as the local facilitating organization. It is estimated that at the end of the programme, between US$2 and US$5 million worth of products would have bee shipped to the targeted markets.

Thomas said he was able to sign marketing contracts for dasheen and hot peppers with two of the major distributors of exotics and fresh food in the Miami area valued at EC$750,000. Under the arrangements DEXIA will supply one of the buyers with a 20-foot container load of dasheen (or 20,000lbs) every month and the two with at least 500 cartons or 16,000 lbs of hot peppers on a monthly basis.

Thomas noted that it was the first time that DEXIA was getting that kind of formal contractual arrangement. “It will give us some confidence when we go to the farmers to produce for exports that we can be assured that those volumes can be disposed off” Thomas said. He further revealed that although the Agency had contracted to ship dasheen and hot peppers, the opportunity exists to export significantly more than the contracted volumes and to ship other produce such as pumpkins, breadfruit, and coconuts. However he noted that “whatever products we target we must ensure that we are competitive, generate some profits and ensure that the price we have to source from farmers is sufficient to allow them to stay in business.”

In an effort to secure consistent quality supplies throughout the years, DEXIA will be issuing contracts to farmers for the cultivation of dasheen and hot peppers. Farmers wishing to take advantage of this opportunity are encouraged to contact the Agency at its Roseau offices on the Bayfront or Theodora Anthony who is the Export Readiness Officer under the C-TEP project.

Although the exportation of dasheen under the C-TEP programme is slated to kick off early in 2008 to allow for an 8-month growing cycle, farmers with exportable quantities of dasheen can begin to cash in on this marketing opportunity. Any farmer so desiring can contact DEXIA for additional information.

Presently DEXIA exports dasheen and hot peppers to the US and a variety of other crops to the UK and regional markets.