SANTO DOMINGO - Exports of cocoa from October 2009 to April this year have generated some US$70.1 million for the Dominican economy, while production amounted to 24,160 metric tons of which 22395 metric tons was exported.

Cocoa production in 2009 was 50,000 metric tons and producers estimate that that number could drop this year to 43,000 due to the drought that hit crops in the early part of the year.

Cocoa production in the Dominican Republic generated 300,000 jobs with 35,000 farmers looking after and harvesting the crop. For product quality, the Dominican Republic was included in the select group of 15 countries recognized as gourmet cocoa producers, allowing better use of international market prices. The staus of the Dominican Republic as a producer of quality cocoa is growing, even in the stock exchanges in London and New York. In January 2008, the International Cocoa Organization recognized the country as a producer and exporter of cocoa,