Coffee growers have mixed feelings about a compensation fund created for the coffee sector. On one hand, the growers are grateful for the RD$200 subsidy per quintal (100 pounds) exported. But on the other hand, they wonder how they can export coffee and collect the subsidy if they don’t have “one centavo to begin collecting the harvest,” according to Listín Diario. The RD$140 million subsidy granted by the government on October 18 is meant to be paid to coffee exporters after the product has been sold instead of being given directly to producers. This prevents the farmers from having enough initial resources to harvest the coffee which has already resulted in the loss of 20 per cent of production, according to the newspaper. Coffee sector associations have asked President Mejía to fulfill his promise to grant RD$60 million to harvest the crop and to finance another RD$25 million to cover the costs of marketing it. The drop in international coffee prices has placed this sector of the Dominican economy on the verge of extinction, says Listín Diario.
