The Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA) celebrates the opening of the Dominican Republic market for pork produced in Brazil, as announced by the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Fávaro, according to a press release from ABPA.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, three Brazilian plants in the states of Acre, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul have been empowered to ship products to the Dominican market. It is expected that new establishments in Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and also in Paraná will be qualified after the completion of pending procedures.

“The Dominican Republic is a market with high demand, which has faced severe challenges with the record of African swine fever in its territory, which has reduced local production in recent years. In this sense, thanks to the work carried out by the Ministries of Agriculture and Foreign Affairs, we position Brazil as a partner for the food security of the Dominican population. We hope to see the effects of this partnership soon, with shipments of Brazilian products to this market”, said Ricardo Santin, president of ABPA.

The Dominican Republic is one of the most important pork import markets in the Americas. Annually, the country produces 45 thousand tons of pork, but consumes 165 thousand tons, according to 2022 data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In 2022, the Dominican Republic imported 120 thousand tons of the product, and the projection for 2023 points to international purchases of up to 130 thousand tons, according to USDA projections. About 85% of this volume comes from the United States, being completed by the United Kingdom and Canada.

“The Caribbean country is an important tourist hub in the region where it is located and Brazil has been exporting chicken to the Dominican Republic for many years, which can facilitate the quick closing of deals. It is the fifth market opened or expanded just this year for pork protein, which increasingly reinforces Brazil's prominent position in the global pork supply, with Brazil already accounting for approximately 12% of all pork meat traded internationally in the world," said Luís Rua, ABPA's director of markets.