DOMINICAN REPUBLIC-HAITI TRADE AGREEMENT IMMINENT

Santo Domingo, August 15 (PL)- The Dominican Republic is about to sign a trade agreement with Haiti to export chicken, eggs and other products by paying respective duties or tariffs, official sources announced.

With that step, the Haitian ban on those products, in force since early June, will be lifted, said Dominican Minister of Agriculture, Luis Ramon Rodriguez.

He said import requirements demanded by Haiti are included in the quality standards and phytosanitary measures of the World Trade Organization.

Farms and businesses will be created before sending the products, so that Haitian importers observe the production and packaging of products to be bought.

In an interview in a local television program, Rodriguez the Dominican Republic has never been hit by avian flu, which was the reason argued to impose the said ban.

Haiti is the Dominican Republic´s second trade partner after the United States, with over $1.10 billion USD sold in products yearly to the neighbor, according to official figures.

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