Rep./Dominican. The Dominican Republic (DR) is one of the fastest growing economies in the Caribbean and one of the largest Central American markets for food and agricultural products in the United States.
U.S. imports of agricultural products from DR totaled US$413 million in 2015. Agriculture is the country's second largest sector and has the potential to drive significant economic growth. Unfortunately, a high percentage of the country's agricultural products are rejected for reasons of food safety and quality.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently working to strengthen the Dominican Republic's ability to export high-quality, safe fruit and vegetable products through the Exporting Quality and Safety (EQS) project.
The new program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agriculture Service, provides technical assistance to increase the quality, productivity, and sales of four key agricultural products: avocado, cocoa, pineapple, greenhouse vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers), and a wide range of exotic vegetables.
One of the Dominican Republic's leading cargo companies, Caribe Cargo, is working at the request of United Parcel Service (UPS), to open a fresh produce receiving terminal in the city of La Vega for a daily Miami-Santo Domingo-Miami freight route. They plan to install the pre-cooling infrastructure, 500 m2 of cold rooms and refrigerated transport to the airport.
In January 2017, a team of two experts, Eric Sorensen and Juan Carlos Hencker, traveled to the Dominican Republic to visit the site and make recommendations on the design of the optimal cargo flow (from reception to dispatch), insulating materials and equipment, optimal use of refrigerants and recommendations for differential storage of products, including optimum temperature for each storage volume or products in the forced air cooler and practices to conserve energy.
The finalized recommendations will be shared with Caribe Cargo to help in the rehabilitation of this site, to improve the export of high quality fruits and vegetables. During their stay in the country, the team toured additional facilities for quick consultations that could improve the operation of each facility. Recommendations range from the purchase of protective boards around the doors to the hiring of pest services and the application of skid-free floors.
Source: Global Cold Chain Alliance.
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