The COVID-AM blog is a partnership between the UMI 3157 iGLOBES and the Institut des Amériques, coordinated by François-Michel Le Tourneau, Deputy Director and Marion Magnan, researcher at the Institute. About the blog.

by Laura Henry, coordinator of the Central American office of the Institut des Amériques (University of Costa Rica) and doctoral student in geography at the University of Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle.

The Dominican Republic triggered admiration from some of its inhabitants, especially the expatriates established there, because of its response and strong measures, despite being considered a developing country and being only ranked 89th on the Human Development Index.

We should recognize the fact that despite the disorder generated by the curfew and the new social practices to fight the spread of the virus, the Dominicans have shown resiliency and their inherently good humor which has allowed them to overcome all crises.

But what is the impact of the pandemic on the second most exported product in the Dominican Republic, both in quantity  (54 891 tons in 2017 according to the FAO) and in price ($135 972 000 in 2017 according to the FAO): cocoa? 

The Dominican Republic is the 9th worldwide producer of the cocoa bean and the 10th greatest exporter. It is considered a high quality cocoa producer on the international market thanks to distint plants, fertile land, a favorable climate and a technical itinerary that needs few or no fertilizers or chemical products. But mainly, it is recognized for its particular fermentation process that gives the Dominican cocoa unique organoleptic qualities [1]. Furthermore, the Dominican Republic is the world leader in organic cocoa. This desirable position is new. Until the 1980s, the international markets considered the Dominican cocoa of low, if not bad quality. There was a real paradigm change during which the country was able to improve the quality of its products (40% of the production is considered as "fine and flavor cocoa" [2]) and improve its image by reconfiguring its industry and building a "country brand" in order to become essential. With over 80 000 tons of beans produced in 2018, the cocoa sector employs 40 000 producers and indirectly touches close to 400 000 people. "On top of beaches, people and baseball, the new ambassador of the Dominican Republic is cocoa".

Right at the start of the health crisis caused by the pandemic, a quick survey was done by the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute (FCCI) to evaluate the impact of Covid-19 on cocoa production and sales. For the Dominican Republic, the results are worrisome. Sales of companies that answered the survey have gone down on average 50%. The drastic lockdown put in place prevented the producers and the agricultural workers from going to the plantations during several weeks, until exceptions were granted by the authorities. This caused a decrease in labor in the plantations provoking a return of problems due to parasites and pests, but also a loss in quality because of a loosening of controls which created wait times and delays in certification. There was also a drop in communication. With the quarantine, the only distributors allowed were supermarkets, which meant that any product sold by other marketing venues were halted, including all the fine chocolate which the European market loves. So the health crisis hit the fine chocolate sales harder than the regular chocolate [3]. Some Dominican companies, having a hard time selling their Hispaniola beans on the European market, the main buyer of the fine and flavor, organic and fair trade cocoa [4], could only sell their conventional cocoa, Sanchez (non-fermented, of lesser quality), on the US market. Because of this, premiums given to producers for their certifications, as well as the added value created by the fermentation, are not paid, which means a decrease in revenu. So, it's the sale of chocolate and chocolate products on a national level and the sale of exported beans that are directly affected.

Because of this crisis, there is discussion on how to turn the situation around and refocus communication and marketing efforts on developping new business strategies for national consumption. Remote meetings between the industry's main players are taking place often in order to increase national consumption of chocolat so that, in so doing, there is less dependence on international markets. Organizing a national chocolate competition, getting involved in schools to develop the taste of chocolate among the young people as well as the association of chocolate with coffee, a key element in Dominican culture, are avenues being considered. According to Yony Molina, project manager of the National Cocoa Commission, the agricultural sector remains the strongest sector and the most resistant to the crisis thanks to the government's effort and major stakeholders in order to maintain food provisions and the smooth operation of the plantations. So the pandemic seems to be bringing together and unifying the agricultural sector, specifically the cocoa sector not only at the national level, but also at the regional one. The Latin American Cacao and Chocolate Summit took place at the end of May and centered on best practices in response to the pandemic on the cocoa sector, to which many players in the Dominican cocoa sector participated.

The Dominican Republic is organizing itself, the stakeholders are communicating with each other, the exporters are trying to support the producers by buying at a good price, even though a lot of orders have been cancelled. Sometimes, the local price of the beans is higher than the New York Stock Exchange's [5]. The cooperatives are also changing their practices to adapt them to the health crisis and aid networks have been created for those in great need. Though chocolate is not an essential food item, sales may not be significantly hit by the crisis. First, according to WHO, chocolate is a product with a low risk of infection so it can continue to be produced and sold if the distribution circuits are still maintained. Then, during the 2008 crisis, chocolate sales increased worldwide by 15%. Maybe this will happen again, after all, chocolate is a known antidepressant!