In 2015, the Dominican Republic has managed to reduce the number of pest notifications by 67 percent and the one for pesticide residues by 48 percent compared to 2014, thus preventing the closure of the European Union market for Dominican fruit and vegetables.
The European Union notified the Dominican Ministry of Agriculture in June 2014 that, failing to see a significant improvement in the high levels of contamination by pests and pesticide residues in products exported to the countries of the European Union, it would prohibit the export of fruits and vegetables to their countries.
A year and a half later, this has been achieved thanks to the work carried out by the institution in partnership with exporters and local authorities in the European Union, which together drew up an action plan that included specific phytosanitary control measures, both in the fields as well as in packing facilities, ports and airports.
The Minister of Agriculture, Ángel Estévez, in a meeting with exporters and experts from the Ministry, analysed the results of the audit, congratulating also the exporters for adopting the measures implemented in the Action Plan put into operation from July 2014.
Estévez said that the first step of the action plan was to gather information and identify the main reasons why the country was receiving notifications, and it was determined that thrips in aubergines and bitter melon, weevils in peppers and the Caribbean fly in mangoes were the three major pests.
It was also determined that the residues of chemical insecticides belonging to the carbamate and phosphate groups were the two main causes of pesticide notifications.
A mandatory hydrothermal treatment was introduced in the packing facilities, which consists of the pressure washing of vegetables, followed by immersion of these in hot water at a temperature of 52 degrees Celsius and a second immersion in water at a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius. This treatment is effective in over 95% of cases for the elimination of thrips.
A rapid detection kit was also brought from Japan, making it possible to detect the presence of pesticides of certain chemical groups in about 30 minutes, thereby preventing contaminated products from reaching the packing facilities and being shipped to countries of the European Union or to the domestic market.
Estévez spoke during a meeting with producers and exporters of over 80 Asian vegetables and fresh fruits in La Vega and other parts of the country.
The official urged everyone to continue improving the quality and safety of their products for export and for domestic consumption, stressing that the Dominican Republic is currently among the 10 largest exporters of fruits and vegetables to the European Union.
