Haiti - DR : Haitian customs retain Dominican trucks at the border
Thursday, Dominican merchants reported that several trucks loaded with plantains, bananas, carrots, lemons and other Creole products were retained at the Jimani-Malpasse border by the Haitian authorities. They claim that the ban on Dominican exports to Haiti, of this type of products was lifted last year. They threatened to block the border if the Haitian authorities do not allow them to sell these products, worth several million pesos...
Osmar Benitez, Executive Vice-President of the Dominican Board of Agribusiness (JAD), said that the Haitian customs action was a reprisal for "a few days ago Dominican customs officers Have not let some Haitian products go by, so they decided to do the same. He pointed out that this blockage occurred when a delegation from the Haitian Government came to the Dominican Republic to meet, among others, businessmen, traders and customs officials and the Ministry of Dominican authorities concerned, to define the points of a Protocol to facilitate trade between the two nations.
According to Dominican experts on Haitian issues, there are sectors in Haiti that "apparently do not understand the purpose of this protocol and often adopt measures that only serve their interests [...]"
