Black beans for black gold

[NewsWhore]

Over the medium term the obligations that the Dominican Republic has contracted with Venezuela under the PetroCaribe Pact cannot be paid by foodstuffs produced in the DR. The main cash crop, black beans, has not seen an increase in local production for years. Ever since it was made known that the oil from Venezuela could be paid for with farm products, people, including Presidents Chavez and Fernandez have referred to the Dominican Republic as the potential "breadbasket of the Caribbean," but the programs for planting more beans and other products have yet to start, according to Listin Diario. The Dominican Republic has to pay Venezuela US$4.8 million next October as part of the Petrocaribe Pact that finances a major portion of the 50,000 barrels a day that is allocated to the country under the pact. While black beans might be high on the Venezuelan list of farm products, they are not well-liked in the DR and are not all that profitable for farmers, and, therefore they are not planted on a lot of land. Agricultural economist Frank Tejada says that rice, milk, beef, poultry and eggs can be shipped to Venezuela, since the DR has an installed capacity to produce in excess of local consumption.

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