Coffee exports in 1998 reached 21,777,591 gross kilos, three million more than in 1997. Coffee exporters shipped 20.36 million kilos of green coffee, 1.03 million kilos of toasted coffee grains, and 382,835 kilos of ground toasted coffee. The US was the largest importer buying 9 million kilos of green coffee, followed by Germany with 3.47 million, Italy with more than 2.8 million kilos, Canada with 1.84 million and Japan with 1.8 million. Other countries that purchased Dominican green coffee were Spain, Switzerland, Holland, Norway, Jamaica, France, Guadeloupe, Sweden, Belgium, Australia, Lebanon and the UK. The coffee is primarily used to make gourmet blends. Exports continue to increase. Exports of the first trimester were close to two million kilos shipped primarily to Italy, US, Japan, Germany and Spain. Toasted coffee grains were shipped to Puerto Rico, and ground toasted coffee was primarily shipped to St. Marten, Curaçao and the Virgin islands.
