WILLEMSTAD:--- The Social and Economic Council (SER) of Curaçao delivered a detailed advisory today to the Minister of Economic Development, Drs. Roderick Middelhof, on proposed national regulations that would impose an import ban on designated fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs. The council adopted its advisory on December 12, 2025, following deliberations during a plenary session.
The draft measures before the council are framed as an effort to implement Article 4 of the National Ordinance on Import and Export, a provision at the center of current policy discussions about food security, price stability and the resilience of Curaçao’s agricultural sector. At issue are draft rules that would prohibit the import of certain fresh produce, subject to a permit-and-exemption system. Under the drafts, the executive branch would determine and periodically update the list of covered products by ministerial regulation.
Beyond the prohibition itself, the draft regulations envision a broader framework of information-collection and producer registration. Officials would establish a registry of local growers — known locally as “kunukero’s” — to enable more data-informed reviews of permit applications and to improve transparency across the supply chain.
In preparing its advisory, the SER applied a rigorous and multidisciplinary analytical framework. Legal experts within the council evaluated the draft legal text against Curaçao’s domestic legal framework, including the National Ordinance on Import and Export, and assessed its consistency with higher legal norms — among them international trade principles and foundational rule-of-law standards.
Concurrently, the council examined the socioeconomic context underpinning the proposed measures. That analysis drew on available empirical data and academic studies on Curaçao’s food systems, with particular attention to the island’s dependence on imported produce, recent trends in consumer prices, and the structural dynamics of its local agriculture.
Assessment did not end with legal and economic theory. Attention also turned to questions about how the policy would work in practice, probing how a system of permits and exemptions would be administered on the ground, what kinds of oversight would be needed to ensure compliance, and how the necessary information systems would have to be set up to make the whole framework function effectively.
To broaden the perspective, the SER brought international experience into its review. Comparative insights from literature and regulatory practice in other island economies provided additional texture, while selected consultations with local stakeholders added real-world context and nuance to the council’s understanding.
Taken together, these strands produced a comprehensive advisory that lays out the analytical frameworks, data evaluations and practical considerations that informed the council’s review. The document is designed to support the broader legislative process with a foundation of evidence and legal rigor, offering clarity on how the draft measures intersect with both statutory norms and socioeconomic realities.