as of 2005, peru produced 200 tons of cochineal dye per year and the canary islands produced 20 tons per year. chile and mexico also export cochineal. in mexico, production and exportation of the dye has been found to lower poverty and improve female literacy. france is believed to be the world's largest importer, and japan and italy also import the insect. much of these imports are processed and re-exported to other developed economies. as of 2005, the market price of cochineal was between us$50 and 80 per kilogram, while synthetic raw food dyes are available at prices as low as $10–20 per kilogram.