The Dominican coffee sector is on the rebound, according to the latest information from the Dominican Coffee Institute (Indocafé). Coffee farmers are recovering from the onslaught of the Coffee Leaf Rust by planting of varieties that are resistant to the Hemileia vastarix fungus.
The Coffee Leaf Rust had effectively wiped out most of Dominican coffee production. There is no cure for the fungus, and preventive methods require heavy investments in labor and time. In the Dominican case, many farms were replanted with hybrid coffee trees, but a seedling takes between three and five years to come into full production, explains Indocafé head, Marino Suarez Joran.
Súarez announced that this year the coffee crop should reach 400,000 quintals (100lbs). However, within two more years, coffee production is expected to reach 700,000 quintals.
Local consumption is estimated at between 600,000 and 700,000 quintals per year. Suarez also noted that there was a distinct possibility that there would be a surplus for export. There is good demand for Dominican coffee beans in other places such as Spain and the United States.
Indocafé is currently working on the creation of a National Registry of Coffee Growers.
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Diario Libre
15 April 2019