Study of the Dominican coffee sector and the certification potential of specialty coffees République dominicaine

Context of the service

The Dominican coffee industry had been in decline since the 1970s, with Dominican coffee accounting for no more than 1% of world trade in the early 2000s. The fall of this sector was structural (ageing of plantations, lack of care given to processing, loss of export markets, etc.), but also due to the termination of the International Coffee Agreement (AIC) in 1999, which led to the deregulation of world coffee prices and, finally, to Hurricane Georges in 1998 (destruction of part of the coffee farms).
The producer price stagnated in 2001 below USD 100 per quintal, which can be considered as the break-even point of production in peasant environments. In addition, the Green Coffee Association applied a penalty of USD four per quintal, due to poor coffee quality, and importers used to apply an "unofficial" penalty of USD 10 per quintal by purchasing the coffee "Cost insurance freight" and not "Free on board".
However, Dominican coffee, produced for 85% of volumes in altitude areas (>800 m) is reputed to be of excellent quality, the altitude favoring the hatching of aromas. Some origins, such as Barahona and Cibao Altura, are even among the most famous in the world among coffee professionals. In order to revive this sector, which supported nearly 70,000 producers, 150 agro-industrialists and, more generally, 700,000 people (1/10th of the population), a project to improve the quality of Dominican coffees and promote special coffees (gourmet, fair trade, organic) was launched in 2001.

Services provided

The International Center for Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD), in collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Agricultural Cooperation (IICA), had received financial support from the project's donor, the French Development Agency (AFD), to study the practical conditions for the promotion of specialty coffees. Working within the Dominican Coffee Council (CODOCAFE), the expert rendered the following services:
- Complete study of the Dominican coffee sector (from production to export) and existing local initiatives in specialty coffees. Many coffee farmers' associations, 13 agro-industrialists, several intermediaries and all the state services in charge of the sector were consulted. This made it possible to identify the strengths/weaknesses of the sector at all levels, as well as the distribution of margins and volumes between players;
- Large-scale market analysis (433 export contracts analyzed, more than 1,000 market survey questionnaires distributed in 59 countries) to identify the tastes and selection criteria of processors / retailers / consumers of specialty coffees;
- Review of existing theoretical economic frameworks for the analysis of the certification of specialty coffees.
All this has finally made it possible to produce practical recommendations in terms of creating a collective quality label for Dominican specialty coffees.

Summary of the service

Complete study of the Dominican coffee sector (from production to export) and existing local initiatives in the field of specialty coffees. Identification of the strengths/weaknesses of the sector at all levels, as well as the distribution of margins and volumes between players. Large-scale market analysis to identify the tastes and selection criteria of specialty coffee processors/retailers/consumers. Review of existing theoretical economic frameworks for the analysis of the certification of specialty coffees. Practical recommendations in terms of creating a collective quality label for Dominican specialty coffees.