(DominicaNews)Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Business, Trade and Energy, Dr. Vince Henderson has called for the elimination of importation of certain fruits and vegetables to Dominica.
He made the announcement during a press conference on Wednesday.
“I want us to target the elimination of any green leafy vegetables,” he said.
He continued, “We should not be importing watermelon. We need to eliminate the importation of those things and I am saying that I am prepared to work with the Ministry of Agriculture and if it means the imposition of tariffs on some of these imported stuff outside of CARICOM, we will do that.”
In October 2022, while delivering the feature address at the annual Diaspora dialogue, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit reiterated a call for the reduction of imports to Dominica.
According to him, there is no reason why any Dominican should buy imported watermelon in Dominica.
“There is no reason why anybody should buy imported cantaloupe in Dominica,” he stated.
Mr. Skerrit believes the power in terms of transforming agriculture resides in the hands of the consumers.
“If you go to the supermarket and you insist that you want local stuff they will stock up with local stuff,” he stated. “This is where we are pushing heavily and also agro-processors turning primary products into secondary and tertiary products, adding value to it…”
