U.S. Exports to Dominican Republic Reach Record-High; Pork Leads Way

For the third straight year, agricultural exports from the U.S. to the Dominican Republic have reached an all-time record with pork leading the way.

Pork exports to the Dominican Republic reached $234 million in 2022 – a 55% increase from $151 million exported in 2021, reports USDA in the latest Foreign Agricultural Service GAIN report.

“The increased demand for pork products is a direct reflection of the severe impact of African swine fever (ASF) on local swine production,” USDA noted in the report.

Local pork production in the Dominican Republic is estimated to be 30% lower since the ASF outbreak in 2021. Outbreaks continue to plague pork producers on the island of Hispaniola.

The production impacts have been severe, noted Amy Delgado, DVM, a veterinary epidemiologist who serves as the director of the Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health. In 2021, when APHIS first started talking to the countries about their compensation program and what they were seeing, officials thought they may have lost up to about 50% of their swine herd at that time. By 2022, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service found with nationwide control and eradication efforts ongoing, swine production in the DR fell by 28% year over year in 2022 and an additional 9% decline projected in 2023.

Read more about the situation here.

Total U.S. agricultural exports to the Dominican Republic reached an all-time record of $2.2 billion in 2022; a 14% increase from the previous record set last year. The high demand for other meat products and consumer-oriented products was driven by an increase in the number of tourists visiting the country in 2022.

According to the Dominican Republic’s Central Bank, the country received 7,165, 387 tourists in 2022, a 43% increase from the number of tourists visiting the country in 2021 (4,994,313). Reports say tourists demanded more than $150 million in agricultural products in 2022.

Exports to DR

Other U.S. export highlights include:

• Soybean meal was the second-highest agricultural product exported in 2022, in terms of value, reaching $231 million. Increased local output of poultry meat and products was the main driver. Soybean meal and corn, which also increased in exports by 33% in 2022, are important feed ingredients for the local poultry industry.

• Dairy products constituted the fourth-highest agricultural product in terms of value, reaching $157 million in 2022; a 35% increase from $116 million exported in 2021. Within dairy products, U.S. cheeses continue to gain market share. Exports of U.S. cheeses reached $46 million in 2022; a 43% increase from $32 million exported in 2021. Exports of U.S. non-fat dried milk reached an additional $46 million; a 42% increase from $32 million exported in 2021. USDA says the increased demand is explained by increased demand from local milk processors who continue to complain about the lack of availability of local quality milk.

• Wheat products reached $126 million; a 28% increase from $99 million exported in 2021. USDA notes this was spurred by an increase in demand for wheat products manufactured in the Dominican Republic from the local tourism industry and neighboring Haiti.

• Beef and beef products continue to be in high demand across the hotel and restaurant sector in the Dominican Republic as high-quality cuts are not produced locally. U.S. exports of beef and beef products reached $98 million in 2022, a 24% increase over the $79 million exported in 2021.

• Although Dominican imports of poultry products reached an all-time high in 2022, U.S. market share declined. Total U.S. poultry exports reached $81 million in 2022, which represents a 16% decrease from $96 million exported in 2021. The decline in market share is explained by the implementation of Law 6-22 that temporarily eliminated all tariffs on imported food and agricultural products, such as poultry and the implementation of more restrictive protocols on U.S. poultry products due to concerns with the ongoing Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreak in the U.S.

• U.S. soybean oil exports to the Dominican Republic also declined to $59 million in 2022; a 6% decrease from $63 million exported in 2021. The decline is explained by increased competition from lower cost soybean oil sourced from South America.

USDA Commits to Help Haiti, Dominican Republic Fight African Swine Fever

Haiti Reports Outbreak of African Swine Fever

Dominican Republic Confirms Positive Case of African Swine Fever

Close All the Windows to Keep ASF Out

ASF in the Western Hemisphere: What’s Different 40 Years Later?

It's Time to Batten Down the Hatches, Pork Industry Experts Say