Banana producers get a break

[NewsWhore]

Dominican banana producers received the financing they were promised by President Leonel Fernandez, which will help the sector to recover on a large scale. The financing will be processed through Banco Agricola and is for an initial RD$400 million at a 6% annual interest rate. Fernandez made the promise to the sector after banana plantations in the north and northeast were devastated by Tropical Storm Olga and Noel and the opening of the Tavera dam floodgates. Dominican Banana Producers Association president Eddy Cabrera asked the government to build special 100km walls to contain the flooding of the North Yaque River, between Santiago and Montecristi. Cabrera, along with other representatives from the sector, said that if nothing is done, flooding would recur and keep causing problems. Cabrera explained that the sector has lost 78,000 acres of bananas, leading to concerns about the effect on the DR's banana exports, and the sector provides 35,000 jobs in the northeastern region. Cabrera, quoted in Hoy, claims that the sector has lost RD$900 million and would produce just 4.5 million 18.14kg boxes of bananas this year. Former Banana Association president Salvador Estevez says that the RD$900 million in losses doesn't include the RD$750 million in lost export revenues.

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