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African Swine Fever (ASF) remains a significant challenge in the Dominican Republic. Despite initial emergency response efforts, the disease is now endemic, with outbreaks showing an upward trend in 2024 and continuing to consistently appear throughout the country.

The Government of Bulgaria (GOB) continues to oppose agricultural biotechnology. Non-governmental anti-biotech organizations, local activists, and Bulgaria’s organics industry actively spread nonscientific disinformation about biotechnology. Meanwhile, Bulgaria’s poultry, dairy, and livestock stakeholders continue to import biotech-derived feed ingredients.

The Dominican Republic continues to be a strong market for U.S. bulk agricultural products (e.g., corn), intermediate goods (e.g., soybean meal), and high value consumer-oriented products (e.g., processed food products), reaching a total export value of $2 billion in 2023.

FAS/Sofia has revised further downward its estimate for Bulgaria’s MY 2024/25 corn crop to 1.7 million metric tons (MMT) based on the latest harvest data and which, if confirmed, will be the smallest crop since 2012. This is due to the severe summer heat and drought.

On October 7, 2024, the Government of the Dominican Republic announced a proposed a tax reform bill that could have significant implications for U.S. agricultural exports, particularly in the pork, beef, and beverage sectors.

The Dominican Republic (DR) is the third-largest export market in the Western Hemisphere for U.S. consumer-oriented products. In 2023, U.S. exports of these products to the DR exceeded $1 billion, largely due to strong demand from foreign tourism and the retail sector.

For marketing year October 2024/September 2025 (MY 2024/25), Post forecasts overall sugar production in the Dominican Republic (DR) to increase to 520,000 metric tons (MT) due to better-than-expected rainfall patterns.

FAS/Sofia estimates a reduction in Bulgarian oilseeds crops in marketing year (MY) 2024/25 due to extremely hot and dry weather conditions in July and August. FAS/Sofia estimates the rapeseed crop at 190,000 metric tons (MT), down nine percent from last year and 36 percent from two years ago.

FAS/Sofia has revised downward its estimate for Bulgaria’s MY 2024/25 corn crop to 2.2 million metric tons (MMT), which if realized would be the smallest crop in over a decade. This is due to severe summer heat and drought in July and in early August.

The Bulgarian livestock industry is experiencing strong production growth in 2024, following the expansion of swine numbers and commercial cattle numbers in 2023.

This report describes the major export certificates required by the Government of the Dominican Republic (GoDR) for imports of food and agricultural products. No substantive changes were published as of June 2024.

FAS/Sofia expects growth in Bulgarian poultry production in 2024, driven by declining feed/production costs and improving competitiveness, as well as by continued growth in consumer incomes, travel, and tourism.