The Minister of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs, Victor -Ito- Bisonó, reported that based on monitoring prices and availability in the local market of the products of the basic basket, they have determined to temporarily suspend the export of flour.

The decision seeks to guarantee the food sovereignty of Dominicans and avoid shortages and instability in the prices of this product and its derivatives.

According to the monitoring carried out by the MICM, flour exports have increased by 70% between January-October 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, and although there is installed capacity to cover the needs of the local market and companies guarantee domestic consumption of flour, the government has decided to establish a transitory restriction on the export of this nationally produced product, regardless of the export market.

“It is the responsibility of the Government to articulate, inter-institutionally, actions that allow bringing peace of mind to the market and to the Dominican consumer. In this sense, we have spoken with the Minister of the Presidency, Mr. Joel Santos, in his capacity as president of the National Council for Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security (CONASSAN) established by Law 589-16 in order to coordinate the actions and it has been decided to suspend, for a month, flour exports to the world, this measure being revisable in the medium term, ”indicates a letter from Minister Bisonó sent to the General Directorate of Customs.

Law 589-16, which creates the National System for Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security in the Dominican Republic, indicates that it is an obligation of the State to guarantee access to adequate and sufficient food, permanently.

Likewise, it establishes among its axes of intervention, the establishment of mechanisms that ensure the stability of food availability and reduce the risks of price volatility due to speculative phenomena and abusive or distorting practices.

Flour subsidies

The government subsidized the production of flour this year, the first was carried out in March, where RD$3,000 million were allocated to avoid increases in the prices of bread, pasta and other flour-based products for 45 days, as extended in May with another subsidy of RD$533 million the production of flour for 60 days to reduce production costs and, in effect, to the final products.