Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of certified-organic cocoa, and the leading cacao origin in the Caribbean by volume. Cacao has been grown on the island since the colonial period and became a major smallholder crop across the northern and eastern lowlands, supplied today by tens of thousands of small farms.

Production concentrates in the Cibao region around San Francisco de Macorís (Duarte Province), with further important zones in Hato Mayor and other eastern and northern provinces. The country is unusual in marketing two distinct grades: 'Sánchez', dried without controlled fermentation, and washed, box-fermented 'Hispaniola', the latter favoured by fine and craft chocolate makers. Genetically, germplasm surveys describe Dominican cacao as predominantly Amelonado in ancestry with a substantial Trinitario-hybrid component, consistent with the Amelonado cluster of Motamayor et al. (2008); populations are mixed and variable.

Much of the crop is channelled through producer organisations such as CONACADO, a national federation founded in the late 1980s, and Öko Caribe, which aggregate wet beans for centralised fermentation. The sector remains a global benchmark for organic and Fairtrade-certified cacao, with continuing emphasis on consistent fermentation quality.