Duarte Province
Produces 63.5% of DR organic cocoa exports; 'Tierra del Cacao'; DR is world's 10th largest and leading organic cocoa producer.
San Francisco de Macorís earned its title 'Tierra del Cacao' by producing 63.5% of the organic cocoa shipped from the Dominican Republic to global markets. The province's position in the Cibao Valley—coffee in the mountains, rice in the lowlands, cacao in between—created an agricultural economy so prosperous that San Francisco became one of the country's wealthiest towns. The Dominican Republic ranks as the world's 10th largest cocoa producer and its leading organic exporter, with Duarte Province at the heart of that production.
Beyond cacao, Duarte's agriculture includes rice, coffee, and cattle, while textile and food processing industries have diversified the capital's economy. Ecotourism is emerging around the Loma Quita Espuela Scientific Reserve, where protected cloud forests offer birding and hiking. The city serves as the commercial hub for northeastern Cibao, connecting agricultural producers to national and international markets.
By 2026, Duarte will test whether organic cacao can scale without sacrificing the premiums that made it valuable. Global chocolate companies partner with local cooperatives for certified sustainable sourcing, but rising demand pressures production methods. If cooperatives maintain quality standards and farmers capture value-added processing, Duarte could model how commodity agriculture becomes specialty industry. If volume expansion degrades the organic premium, the 'Land of Cacao' may commoditize its competitive advantage.