Santo Domingo — The Dominican Republic’s coffee industry is currently grappling with a striking paradox that has left local producers calling for urgent policy intervention. Even as the quality of domestically harvested coffee has improved dramatically and global coffee prices have hit record highs, between 60 and 70 percent of all coffee consumed within the country enters through imports, according to the National Network of Coffee Producers and Entrepreneurs (Reproca).
Data shared by the industry group shows that total coffee import spending reached $54.6 million USD in 2023, with the bulk of these imports coming from major coffee-growing nations including Brazil, Vietnam, Honduras, and El Salvador. Enrique Chalas, a spokesperson for Reproca, explained the lopsided structure of the country’s coffee trade: the Dominican Republic exports its highest-tier, premium-quality coffee to international markets, while depending on cheaper, lower-grade imported beans to satisfy everyday domestic demand.
Local coffee growers also point to growing economic inequity in the sector amid the global price surge. The per-quintal market price of coffee has jumped from 5,500 Dominican pesos in 2021 to a projected 23,000 Dominican pesos by 2025, but small and medium local producers have not seen proportional gains from this increase. Reproca notes that domestic production has remained stagnant for years, leaving local growers unable to capitalize on rising prices and access untapped domestic market opportunities.
Another core grievance from the sector centers on the budget management of the Dominican Coffee Institute (Indocafé), the government body tasked with supporting domestic coffee production. Producers argue that the majority of Indocafé’s annual 350 million peso budget is allocated to administrative payroll expenses, leaving almost no funding for critical investments: technical training for small-scale growers, infrastructure upgrades for harvesting and processing, and rural development support. This lack of investment, producers say, has created a vicious cycle that drives farm workers to leave rural coffee-growing regions in search of better opportunities, worsening widespread labor shortages across the sector.
To reverse this decades-long trend of growing import dependence, Reproca and its affiliated producers are calling on the Dominican government to designate expanding domestic coffee production as an official “National Goal.” Producers contend that with targeted, supportive public policy reforms, the Dominican Republic could meet as much as 90 percent of its own domestic coffee demand. Beyond boosting food sovereignty and producer incomes, the group adds that expanding sustainable domestic coffee production would also drive inclusive rural development and strengthen environmental conservation, since coffee cultivation in the country typically relies on climate-friendly agroforestry practices.