Incatema registers growth in the Dominican Republic’s organic banana production and exportation

18 September, 2020

Incatema Consulting & Engineering is currently engaged in the final assessment of the Banana Accompanying Measures programme (BAM), to present in detail its achievements and the level of compliance with the described objectives in the ten countries where the programme is being implemented. In the case of the Dominican Republic, preliminary studies to assess the programme’s impact reflect a positive effect, favouring the consolidation of certified organic production as a strategy of distinction and improvement of the quality of the country’s bananas for positioning in the export market.

“Despite the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 crisis, Incatema continues to work on the overall assessment of the programme, with first results that demonstrate the positive evolution of the Dominican Republic’s banana sector pursuant to the development strategies that the programme suggests. In this regard, preliminary results point to an increase in the production surface of almost 30% during the programme’s execution period. At the same time, the process for organic and fair-trade certification of the farms is maintaining its pace”, points out the company’s Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Sergio de Román.

Promotion of the product’s organic certification has additionally made it possible to diversify export markets, increasing the presence of Dominican bananas in European countries such as the United Kingdom and Belgium. Currently, more than 60% of the production area is certified as organic and an additional 20% is in different phases of the certification process.

The Dominican Republic is the first global exporter of certified organic bananas, with more than 400,000 tonnes per year, complying with the development objectives established in 2014 when the BAM programme was first implemented and total banana exports barely surpassed 280,000 tonnes per annum.

About the BAM programme

The programme of Banana Accompanying Measures is designed to compensate ten banana-producing countries of Africa and the Caribbean for the loss of competitiveness brought about by the liberalisation of the international banana trade, as a result of negotiations within the World Trade Organisation (WTO). These agreements favour the exports of major producers of the ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific), to the detriment of smaller producers.

The Dominican Republic is one of the ten beneficiary countries of the agreement and the fourth in terms of aid granted in the period with more than 16 million euros invested.