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The Organic Agro-Export Boom in the Dominican Republic: Maintaining Tradition or Fostering Transformation?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Laura T. Raynolds
Laura T. Raynolds*
Affiliation:
Colorado State University
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Abstract

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The Dominican Republic has emerged as the world's foremost exporter of organic bananas and cocoa, a top exporter of organic coffee, and an export pioneer in new commodities like organic mangos. Pursuing a contextualized commodity network approach, I explain the rise of organic products within the broader forces fueling nontraditional agro-export growth and identify the key factors configuring organic export networks today. The article analyzes the implications of global organic market trends for Dominican exports and for the thousands of small producers involved. My research finds that despite their historical prominence, rising international competition and buyers' quality expectations are working to displace or disempower small Dominican organic producers. Strong producer associations and transnational movement ties are critical in shoring up the position of small organic producers in the Dominican Republic and may be similarly crucial in other Latin American countries.

Resumo

Resumo

La República Dominicana ha emergido como el primer exportador de plátanos y cocoa orgánica, como exportador principal de café orgánico y exportador pionero de nuevos productos como mangos orgánicos. Aplicando un análisis de commodity network en contexto, explico el aumento de los productos orgánicos dentro de las fuerzas más amplias que afectan el crecimiento de la agricultura-exportación poco tradicional e identifico los factores clave que configuran las redes de exportación orgánica hoy en día. El artículo analiza las implicaciones de las tendencias del mercado orgánico global para las exportaciones dominicanas y para los miles de pequeños productores involucrados. Mi investigación encontró que a pesar de la prominencia histórica de los pequeños productores, el aumento de la competencia internacional y de las expectativas de calidad por parte de los compradores están desplazando a los pequeños granjeros de productos orgánicos dominicanos. Las asociaciones de productores fuertes y las relaciones de los movimientos transnacionales son críticos para mejorar la situación de los pequeños granjeros de productos orgánicos en la República Dominicana, asimismo estos factores pueden ser cruciales en otros países latinoamericanos.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 43 , Issue 1 , 2008 , pp. 161 - 184
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 by the University of Texas Press

Footnotes

*

I gratefully acknowledge the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Program on Global Security and Sustainability, for funding research presented here. I also owe thanks to José Horacio López, Zobeida Bonilla-Vega, and Aimee Shreck for their able research assistance, and to the Dominican organic producers, exporters, and association officials for their time and insights. The views presented here are the responsibility of the author alone.

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