In 1940, agriculture employed 43% of the work force; by 2000, about 3% of the Puerto Rican labor force had agricultural jobs. Nowhere is this decline more evident than in the sugar industry. Production peaked at 1,300,000 tons in 1952, when 150,000 cane cutters were employed; by 1978, however, production was 300,000 tons, fewer than 20,000 cutters were in the fields, and the industry was heavily subsidized. By 2000, only 2,500 people were employed in the sugar industry, mostly in the fields, and Puerto Rico was importing most of its sugar from the US mainland and the Dominican Republic. The hilly terrain makes mechanization difficult, and manual cutting contributes to production costs that are much higher than those of Hawaii and Louisiana. Despite incentives and subsidies, tobacco production has practically ceased, and coffee production—well adapted to the highlands—falls far short of domestic consumption, although about 10% of the best quality crops are exported to Asia, Europe, and the US. Plantains are an important crop, and ornamental plants, exotic fruits, mangoes, vegetables, and bananas are also grown on plots and on former sugar cane fields.