The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Mipymes, Victor -Ito- Bisonó, reported that based on monitoring prices and availability in the local market of basic basket products, they have determined to temporarily suspend the export of flour, to guarantee 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, he said.
“In this sense, we have spoken with the Minister of the Presidency, 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 corresponding 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, a measure that is It was extended in May with another RD$533 million subsidy for the production of flour for 60 days to reduce production costs and, in effect, the final products.
MSMEs will supply teleras
In other information, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs (MICM) reported that some 26 MSMEs from all over the country will supply teleras to the Economic Kitchens for an amount of RD$ 24.8 million, as part of a public bidding process for purchases Christmas, in compliance with decree 31-22, according to a note from the institution.
The products will be purchased from industrial MSMEs that meet the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practices demanded by the Dominican Institute for Quality (Indocal).
In this process of Economic Canteens, only MSME industries that meet the requirements of Decree 31-22 competed with each other, that is, only Dominican production companies and not intermediaries, a public policy that supports vulnerable economic groups, such as industrial MSMEs.
The awarded MSME industries, many of which are led by women, manufacture flour products, such as the traditional Dominican telera, and have the Industrial Registration issued by the Center for Industrial Development and Competitiveness (Proindustria) and the MSME Certification, issued by the MICM.
Shopping
With the acquisition of teleras by Comedores Económicos, the State becomes a client of micro, small and medium-sized bakers in the Dominican Republic, which will contribute to boosting sales and jobs in these production units and the economy as a whole. set.
