USSEC recently provided technical support to pork processors in the Dominican Republic.  USSEC consultant Julio Chaves travelled to the Dominican Republic to provide assistance to preferred customers at swine harvest plants, deboning facilities and the sausage industry.  He was invited to visit a sausage plant under construction in the Guazumal / Tamboril area to provide his opinion and recommendations.  Mr. Chaves also visited a major pork processor located in Santiago and provided sausage formulations and solutions / corrections for the harvest plant as well as ideas to redesign the deboning facility.  He next visited another pork processor that is interested in increasing its swine production and requested USSEC´s support in developing new pork cuts, technological improvements and new options to increase pork consumption, resulting in higher pork sales.
Mr. Chaves gave a short seminar for professionals in Animal Inspection from the Dominican Ministry of Agriculture to explain some aspects of the CAFTA (Central America Free Trade Agreement) treaty and the effects on importations and pork sales in the Dominican Republic.  He presented a talk, “Towards the Opening,” which examined the CAFTA treaty and its impact on pork importation.