What Asian vegetables does the Dominican Republic export?

The established Dominican oriental-vegetable category includes Thai eggplant (berenjena tai), Chinese eggplant (berenjena china), Indian eggplant, bitter melon (cundeamor) and Chinese long beans (vainitas chinas). The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture records production in the country since 1976, concentrated in La Vega province in the Cibao Central region. Availability by variety is confirmed per supplier.

Where are Asian vegetables grown in the Dominican Republic?

Production is concentrated in La Vega province in the Cibao Central region, in communities including Jima Arriba, Jima Abajo, Ranchito, Sierra Prieta, Junumucu and San Bartolo, per the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture. Holdings run 2 to 150 tareas and average about 30 tareas, or 1.87 hectares, so this is a smallholder sector rather than a plantation one.

What markets buy Dominican Asian vegetables?

The category serves US Asian-American and Caribbean diaspora communities, the specialty distributors that supply them, and Thai and Southeast Asian food service. The US Asian population reached nearly 25 million in 2023, 7% of the national total, up from 11.9 million in 2000, per Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data.

Do Dominican Asian vegetables enter the US duty-free?

Yes. Fresh produce from the Dominican Republic enters the United States at 0% duty under CAFTA-DR, which entered into force for the Dominican Republic in 2007. Duty-free entry does not remove the separate APHIS admissibility check, which is set commodity by commodity and origin by origin, or the FDA import requirements. Confirm the pathway for your specific commodity before contracting.

How should Asian vegetables be handled in transit?

Most of this category is chilling sensitive and will be damaged by ordinary leafy-green or berry handling. Eggplant, for example, is held at 50F to 54F (10C to 12.2C) at 90% to 95% relative humidity and shows chilling injury below 50F (10C). Set-point temperature, cooling method and packaging should be agreed in writing before the first load.

How do I start an Asian vegetable sourcing request?

Share your destination country and port, which varieties you need with cultivar type and size grade, target monthly volume, and required certifications. We confirm availability from our producer network and return a quote.

Asian Vegetables

Source Asian vegetables from the Dominican Republic.

Thai and Chinese eggplant, bitter melon and Chinese long beans for US Asian retail, diaspora grocery and food service, supplied from our Dominican producer network. Zero US duty under CAFTA-DR, 3–5 day sea freight to Miami. Varieties and volume confirmed per line.

Request a asian vegetables quote

La Vega: Growing region
0%: US duty (CAFTA-DR)
3–5 days: DR → Miami transit
1 pallet: Typical MOQ

GlobalG.A.P. FDA-registered facility

FDA-Registered

Certifications held by exporters in our DR network. Specific certs are confirmed per supplier at quote stage.

By Arturo Peguero Founder, DominicanSources Former Dirección de Comercio Exterior · PUCMM international trade

Looking for an Asian vegetable wholesale supplier? The Dominican Republic has produced oriental vegetables as an economic crop since 1976, concentrated in La Vega province in the Cibao Central region, on smallholder plots averaging under two hectares. The category serves US Asian-American and Caribbean diaspora communities and the specialty distributors that supply them. Permanent 0% US duty under CAFTA-DR, 3–5 day sea freight to Miami. Availability, varieties and grading are confirmed per line. Tell us your destination and volume and we quote your order from our producer network.

Varieties you can source

Fresh Thai eggplant, small round green and white striped fruit with calyx attached

Thai + Southeast Asian food service

Thai eggplant (berenjena tai)

Small-fruited cultivar group of Solanum melongena, harvested immature at roughly golf-ball size, green, white or striped. Sells into Thai and Southeast Asian restaurant kitchens and pan-Asian grocery. A chilling-sensitive crop that has to be held at 10°C to 12.2°C, not at leafy-green temperature. Named among the Dominican oriental-vegetable lines by the IICA. Cultivar type, fruit count per case and harvest maturity confirmed per supplier.

Chinese eggplant, long slender purple fruit in market crates

Asian retail + food service

Chinese eggplant (berenjena china)

Long, slender, near-cylindrical fruit in light lilac to dark purple, harvested at full length. The same species as Thai and globe eggplant, sold on a different case count and into a different customer. The only oriental vegetable in the DR with meaningful domestic retail sale, per Dominican trade coverage. Grading and pack format confirmed per supplier.

Indian eggplant, small round deep purple baby brinjal harvested immature with calyx attached

South Asian retail

Indian eggplant (berenjena hindú)

Small, round to oval, dark wine-coloured fruit harvested immature, sold as baby brinjal into South Asian retail. Distinct from the Thai and Chinese types on size, colour and channel despite sharing a species. Specify the cultivar type and size grade rather than the category name.

Asian + Caribbean diaspora retail

Bitter melon (cundeamor)

Ridged, pale-green gourd sold into Asian and Caribbean diaspora grocery and food service. Documented as one of the Dominican Republic's established oriental-vegetable export lines in a USDA-funded value-chain review of the sector. Sizing and pack format confirmed per supplier.

Chinese long beans banded into retail bunches on a produce display

Pan-Asian grocery

Chinese long beans (vainitas chinas)

Long, slender pod beans sold in bunches into pan-Asian grocery and food service. Named alongside cundeamor and berenjena china in the USDA-funded review of the Dominican oriental-vegetable value chain. Bunch weight and grading confirmed per supplier.

Sourcing a variety or format not listed here? We supply beyond this page. Tell us what you need.

What buying DR asian vegetables looks like

A fifty-year-old export category, not a new line

The Dominican Republic has grown oriental vegetables commercially since 1976, concentrated in La Vega province. This is an established smallholder sector serving US and EU diaspora demand, not an opportunistic crop.

CAFTA-DR 0% duty

Fresh Dominican produce enters the US duty-free under CAFTA-DR. Permanent rate, not a temporary promotion. 3–5 day sea freight to Miami. Duty treatment is separate from APHIS admissibility, which is confirmed per commodity and origin.

Grade-out is the real risk on this category

Dominican trade coverage reported 20% to 30% of oriental-vegetable production discarded for failing export grade. That is why a written specification and a paid sample matter more here than on a commodity line.

Cold chain is the constraint

Most of this category is chilling sensitive and will be damaged by ordinary leafy-green handling. Set-point temperature, cooling method and packaging are agreed in writing before the first load, not diagnosed after it.

Request a quote

What we need to quote your asian vegetables order

01 Your destination country and target port of entry.
02 Which varieties, and the cultivar type plus size grade or count per case.
03 Target monthly volume — containers, pallets, or units.
04 Required certifications (GlobalG.A.P., FDA, phytosanitary) and packaging specs.

Data sources

01 Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) — Oriental vegetables produced in the Dominican Republic since 1976, including berenjena china y tai, concentrated in La Vega province in the Cibao Central region, on holdings averaging 30 tareas (1.87 ha)
02 Agroinformación — Dominican oriental-vegetable exports reported at roughly US$80 million a year to the US and EU, with 20% to 30% of production discarded for failing export grade (2016)
03 Office of the United States Trade Representative — CAFTA-DR entered into force for the Dominican Republic in 2007; partners held preferential duty-free treatment under the Caribbean Basin Initiative before that
04 Pew Research Center — The US Asian population reached nearly 25 million in 2023, 7% of the national total, up from 11.9 million in 2000

Last updated · Aug 16, 2026