Facts on less known tobacco regions that you should be aware of: Las Tunas & Camaguey

[El Presidente]

Facts on less known tobacco regions that you should be aware of: Las Tunas & Camaguey

By Punch Joe

Las Tunas

I´m back again on the same topic that raised some questions years ago. Actually in summer of 2006. Back at the time I was told that the tobacco harvest in Las Tunas would have a promising future in 2011-2012 season. In spite of celebrating something that sounded a little bit peculiar, I felt somehow intrigued on the new locations of which I knew little of. Located 670 km east of Havana, Las Tunas province is currently the number 4^th producing region, running far behind from Pinar del Río, Villa Clara and Sancti Spíritus provinces. Usually they grow tobaccos for national consumption, the so-called mad dogs*, over the past ten years with a yearly production of 18 MM of rolled cigars approximately (2009). As for that, they are good at it. Reviewing old clippings and notes I found some data that I want to share with you.

· They are in charge of 2 000 hectares only for cultivating sun grown tobacco.

· They are traditionally one of the best suppliers of lumber for the industry. They have 17 fincas (farms) comprising 330 hectares to provide the wood needed for benches and one third of it is aimed at the cultivation of eucalypt trees since they are used as poles where the leaves are sawn and hung in pairs.

· For export, they have only one cigar factory located in Puerto Padre City manufacturing approximately 2 millions units while three small ones are aimed at rolling national consumption smokes.

Soil: Tobacco Researchers refers to the soil of this area as Plastic. Las Tunas, Granma and Holguín provinces are classified under this name. Mostly the easternmost part of the Vuelta Arriba region (not the center of the Island, where the soil is Brown reddish comprising the zones of Remedios, Cabaiguán, Manicaragua…etc)

Climate: Hot to hotter. Temperatures in the summer are wild. Rains are scarce the entire year so Las Tunas are under permanent draught alert. They have rivers and dams but it is one of the few regions where you could see people merrily welcoming the hurricane season, I may add.

Tradition: Close to none except for some old villages where they were growing for their own consumption in a small scale where they only cultivated sun grown tobacco since last Century. Wrappers used to come from Villa Clara province (formerly Las Villas) supplied by regions such as Manicaragua, Cabaiguán and Remedios. Farther generations of the families that started the cultivation of tobacco, still live there harvesting the leaf. New farms joined them and started again to grow tobacco under the supervision of Tabacuba Business Group in 1996. Ten years later they reached a production of 14 MM rolled cigars for national consumption.(2006) Growers from Pinar lend a hand in strengthening the cigar culture a few years ago.

Camaguey: Sierra de Cubitas and Sierra de Najasa areas

After the first experiment conducted by Tabacuba Business Group in 1999 when they planted 26 hectares, in Sierra de Cubitas, in the province of Camaguey, While the outcome was regarded by many as almost poor, they never gave up. In 2004, some growers were selected to start growing tobacco for fillers and binders in a small portion of land near the mountains.

In 2007-2008 season, 7 growers planted a total area of 35 hectares and opened a new sorting house.

Now they already have 4 sorting houses in operation for leaf classification and expecting to be in charge of over 200 ha next year.

Tradition: Tobacco cultivation dates back as far as 1868 as documented in old maps and historic documents. During the Independence War against the Spaniards, there was a hidden farm called La Vega del Sol near to Sierra del Chorrillo, which supplied the leaf for making cigars for the mambises (Cuban armed forces) Later on, another farms were to be found near to Sierra de Cubitas and Sierra de Najasa.

Guáimaro is another region for sun grown tobacco since the beginning of last Century and still regarded as one of the best areas.

In the last ten years training workforce from Pinar del Río, mostly growers pay systematic visits to this province to check on the expertise of the workers and yield of the harvest. Tobacco strains planted there seems to be the same approved for the season in western areas. Bear in mind they also cultivate tobacco for cigarettes with a method called Sol en Palo, consisting on a long pole in the middle of the field where all the leaves are cut in pairs using a blade and hung over this pole for air curing under the sun. Nothing to do with sun grown or shade grown.

The province of Camaguey has three cigar factories that produce a total of 16 MM cigars approximately for national consumption (2009), four sorting houses, four cooperatives comprising over 10 fincas and ranks number one in the production of Yagua, the Royal Palm outside leaf used in wrappers bales. It´s the major supplier of Yagua for Pinar del Río, La Habana and Sancti Spiritus provinces among others.

Soil: Loose, well drained, with high percentage of humidity. A brown reddish soil with carbonates and without it.

Climate: Mountain with a lot of valleys and plenty of underground waters as the main source. Temperatures climb up to 34 C at daytime during summer while plummeting to 10 C at nights in the mountains.

I sincerely hope they succeed in growing the high quality leaf we all love.

[laficion]

Great info José, thank you

[fred170]

More Land = More Cigars.....Great Info

[Dbone]

Thank you very much, Joe, for writing this article. I was drawn into reading it, probably because all I hear about is the Tobacco from Veulta Abajo region. It was interesting to learn some about the Las Tunas and Camaguey providence. Is the main purpose in these fields to produce tobacco for domestic consumption... or is there hope of something better to come from the 2011 / 2012 harvest in the Las Tunas fields?

[puros71]

Excellent Jose...I am enjoying your commentary and expertise.

[El Presidente]

Thank you very much, Joe, for writing this article. I was drawn into reading it, probably because all I hear about is the Tobacco from Veulta Abajo region. It was interesting to learn some about the Las Tunas and Camaguey providence. Is the main purpose in these fields to produce tobacco for domestic consumption... or is there hope of something better to come from the 2011 / 2012 harvest in the Las Tunas fields?

It's a work in progress. Primarily the tobacco is for domestic production however there is a push to increase the quality across the board in the region through the bringing in of expertise and better farming practices.

2011/2012 will be a little early. 2015/16 more likely.

[Dbone]

It's a work in progress. Primarily the tobacco is for domestic production however there is a push to increase the quality across the board in the region through the bringing in of expertise and better farming practices.

2011/2012 will be a little early. 2015/16 more likely.

Thanks Rob