Big numbers: Dominican supermarket owners in NY sell more than US$10 billion annually

Dominican supermarkets, owned by different Dominican owners, in the state of New York, United States cover a market that mobilizes US$10 billion annually and creates great opportunities for the export trade and MSMEs in the country.

The information was offered by the new president of the National Supermarkets Association (NSA), Samuel Collado, in a meeting held yesterday at the Hotel El Embajador in support of the Caribbean Series, which this year is being held in the Dominican Republic.

Collado emphasized that, at a time of pandemic, food shortages and difficulties in the logistic chain, the Dominican Republic manages a market that exceeds US$10 billion in sales per year in more than 600 establishments and added that the country has a unique opportunity to insert its products, both agricultural and manufactured, in the consumption of Latinos in New York City.

A great asset of the Dominican supermarket community in the U.S.

He pointed out that a great value of the Dominican supermarket community in the United States is that the great majority of the buildings where these businesses operate are owned by these Creole merchants, which he said is a sign of the prosperity they have achieved with their tenacious effort.

Collado also explained that the contribution they make to the Dominican economy is incalculable, creating export opportunities, contributing remittances to the country and even coming as tourists to vacation in their homeland.

In this activity called “Encuentro Invernal” in allusion to baseball and the celebration of the Caribbean Series in the country, organized by the directors of the NSA, in the Hotel El Embajador, participated the Ministers of Industry, Commerce and MiPymes (MICM), Víctor – Ito – Bisonó; of Interior and Police, Jesús Vásquez; of Agriculture, Limber Guzmán; the former Minister of Agriculture and president of the Dominican Agribusiness Board, Osmar Benítez, among other personalities.

“We have companies here that have nothing to envy to any manufacturing scheme anywhere, with a platform and quality of production with the capacity to compete”, Collado told Listín Diario about the Dominican supermarkets, and indicated that:

We are on the way to conquer not only the Dominican market but also the entire Latin American scheme, the Anglo-Saxon and European part that resides in the United States.

Samuel Collado, president of the National Supermarkets Association.

Dominican pride

The past president of the NSA, Nelson Eusebio, expressed the great pride felt by Dominicans to see their products and brands in the U.S. market, and the space they have earned in the taste of Latinos.

He explained that they are focusing on creating the conditions so that MSMEs and Dominican supermarkets that want to enter this market can do so with the support of the Association they lead in the United States and the support of Minister Ito Bisonó and the president of the Dominican Agribusiness Board (JAC).

He mentioned that he recently visited Montecristi with President Luis Abinader where they pledged to support salt producers in this province.

He emphasized that, in addition to contributing directly to the economy through trade, they are also promoters of the beauties and benefits of the Dominican Republic, bringing American businessmen who are encouraged to come to vacation and end up doing business in the country.

Challenges

The NSA president pointed out that it is no secret that doing business in one of the most expensive cities in the world has its risks. He explained that they are going through a critical moment due to the pandemic and the levels of insecurity with the wave of robberies and assaults.

He added that, as in the rest of the world, the contagions caused by Covid-19 have impacted the workers, creating problems with the personnel available to work, which he said has forced Dominican supermarket owners, as well as the rest, to reinvent themselves to handle the great demand generated by these stores.

Participation

The Minister of Industry, Commerce and MiPymes (MICM), Victor – Ito – Bisonó, welcomed the presence of NSA executives in the country and highlighted the contributions they make to the country’s productive apparatus.

“We feel extremely proud when the NSA and its top leaders come, I say this because perhaps few people know that in the hands of Dominicans are 85% of the warehouses and supermarkets in New York City,” Bisonó said, noting that, in addition, these merchants reinvest their money in the Dominican Republic by buying many products they use in their businesses, such as holsters.

The MICM minister said that they are working to create connections so that export SMEs can take advantage of the opportunities created by Dominican supermarkets and Dominican-owned bodegas in New York.

The Minister of Agriculture, Limber Cruz, welcomed the meeting organized by the NSA, who recognized the opportunities they have created for Dominican producers to reach the U.S. market through Dominican supermarkets.

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