Intense rains in Cuba force delay in tobacco sowing

[puromaniac]

Intense Rains in Cuba Force Delay in Tobacco Sowing to February

With around 65% of the country’s production, the Vueltabajo area, in the province of Pinar del Río, is the largest supplier of the leaf. (DC)

EFE  / via 14ymedio, Havana, 18 January 2018 —  The intense rains in Cuba in recent months have forced the island’s farmers to extend until February the sowing of tobacco for the 2017-2018 season. During the season, they plan to sow over 73,000 acres in tobacco, the raw material of the famous Havana cigars.

Rainfall damaged nearly 1,500 acres already planted and several areas used as seedbeds, causing delays that have led to the extension of the plan’s target dates, according to the head of the state group Tabacuba, Gonzalo Rodríguez, speaking to the official news agency Prensa Latina.

Rodríguez insisted, however, that the “situation is encouraging and the producers are optimistic,” having already planted more than 64,000 acres. The current season’s sowing of the leaf began last October.

Tobacco is the fourth largest contributor to the country’s gross domestic product; it accounted for some 445 million dollars in 2016 from the sales of the Cuban-Spanish joint venture, Habanos.

[Nino]

Nope, article is not correct.

The planting has been done later than usual due to climate change, but already back in November.

[NSXCIGAR]

Huh--rains in Cuba have been anything but heavy the last few months--4.6 cm since Nov 1. 

As Nino notes, planting has been done in Nov and so far so good. Weather has been excellent. 

I know last year plantings were done as late as January and many vegueros planted second crops in Jan.

Article seems a bit off to me as well...14ymedio? Never heard of it.

[fastkiller13]

You guys think this crop or last years will allow some Siglo VI or Lanceros to be produced? 

[El Presidente]

They held back some  8000 hectares for January planting this year (insurance against rain damaging the November planting).  November crop has been unscathed.

Tobacco from the 16/17 crop will start to be in cigars 2019 (wrapper). 

[Fugu]

2 hours ago, El Presidente said:

They held back some  8000 hectares for January planting this year (insurance against rain damaging the November planting).  November crop has been unscathed.

That's what I heard. If at all, only to be affecting those backup plantings.

Another strange publication.... "Cuban-Spanish" joint venture... como?!

[Nino]

12 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Article seems a bit off to me as well...14ymedio? Never heard of it.

Off Topic @NSXCIGAR

14ymedio is Cuba's most respected opposition and anti-gvt. newspaper and it is published only online.
It has been created by Yoani Sanchez, a much persecuted journalist.

It is my "go to" source for neutral and true news on Cuba.

Here is the English edition : http://translatingcuba.com/category/14ymedio/

But this article on the tobacco sowing comes from a Spanish press agency, EFE, not from 14ymedio itself ...

[DBNInc]

Huh, makes me wonder what the top 3 contributors to the GDP are

[Nino]

1 hour ago, DBNInc said:

Huh, makes me wonder what the top 3 contributors to the GDP are

Remittances from Cubans living abroad, tourism and nickel production ... plus the "lease" of Cuban doctors and medical personnel.

[Kitchen]

2 hours ago, DBNInc said:

Huh, makes me wonder what the top 3 contributors to the GDP are

In an interview Marvin Shanken did with Fidel years ago, Fidel mentioned sugar, rum and pharmaceuticals being the top exports.

[Fugu]

3 hours ago, nino said:

But this article on the tobacco sowing comes from a Spanish press agency, EFE, not from 14ymedio itself ...

Ok, that's explaining the strange joint venture statement (even been made in the slightly longer Spanish original version of the article).

Thanks for the elucidation re 14ymedio!

[Nino]

1 hour ago, Fugu said:

Ok, that's explaining the strange joint venture statement (even been made in the slightly longer Spanish original version of the article).

Thanks for the elucidation re 14ymedio!

Pleasure @Fugu

Habanos SA is a Cuban-Spanish joint venture, 51%-49% ....

[NSXCIGAR]

10 hours ago, nino said:

Off Topic @NSXCIGAR

14ymedio is Cuba's most respected opposition and anti-gvt. newspaper and it is published only online.
It has been created by Yoani Sanchez, a much persecuted journalist.

It is my "go to" source for neutral and true news on Cuba.

Here is the English edition : http://translatingcuba.com/category/14ymedio/

But this article on the tobacco sowing comes from a Spanish press agency, EFE, not from 14ymedio itself ...

Thanks for the info--I'm surprised I've never heard of this publication but I'm glad I do now. I'll be checking it out.

[Nino]

34 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Thanks for the info--I'm surprised I've never heard of this publication but I'm glad I do now. I'll be checking it out.

Off Topic and Pleasure again @NSXCIGAR

Here is a post on Ms Yoani Sanchez in my blog from 2009 FYI :

http://flyingcigar.de/friends/200903-desde-cuba-generacion-y-blog/

On a return flight from Korea a few months ago I came across an article in Time magazine about a blog by a young Cuban, Ms Yoani Sanchez, who has recently been awarded a literary prize in Spain and was denied permission by Cuban authorities to leave the island to pick it up.

I have become an ardent follower of her blog and consider it to be excellent, her writing elegant and funny, in getting an idea of everyday life, problems and changes in Cuban society and how the young perceive it.

The blog also has German and English translations, which makes it even more interesting.

From Time :

“Yoani Sanchez is 32, trained as a philologist but denied a career as her dissertation was deemed too critical.

She makes a living working in Havana’s tourist industry. She posts her pieces from Internet cafes posing as a tourist.

Her subjects have included the shortage of lemons, the turgid proceedings of the Cuban parliament and the slowness of meaningful reforms by the new leader.”

 

 

 

[puromaniac]

It is generally quite informative and regularly updated. But as the feedback shows there may be some errors or incomplete coverage. Still worth a read.

[Fugu]

6 hours ago, nino said:

Habanos SA is a Cuban-Spanish joint venture, 51%-49% ....

Sure, this will be the 'narrower' Spanish perspective, Nino  . But in fact it's a share (50/50 percent tbp, this is not unimportant, as there's actually parity) between the Cuban state (represented through Cubatabaco) and Imperial Brands PLC, Bristol UK. Imperial Brands (former British Imperial Tobacco Group) was the one to buy Altadis some ten yrs back (well, I am not telling you news here...). The Cuban premium cigar business today and that of other premium cigar brands (e.g. also in the US since a few years) is managed by newly-formed Tabacalera (not to be confused with former pre-Altadis Tabacalera), headquartered in Madrid, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IB. However, the capital source and the holder of the 50% Habanos S.A. share is the mother entity, a British company. So, strictly spoken HSA is a Cuban-British joint venture.

Anyway, minor issue. What I find quite intriguing is your reporting on the Time Mag article, saying that Sanchez is writing (incognito as it appears), from internet cafés behaving like a tourist. I always wonder how these guys, writing from within Cuba, manage to remain unbothered and not being confronted with reprisals by the state. She will be known, her blog will be known - posting from a hidden place won't be of any avail, would it? I mean, there have been people put to arrest for lesser things. That's actually something I am also always wondering about Havana Times, another publication posting some pretty critical stuff...

[Nino]

@Fugu  Yes, you are right on the capital side of the joint venture. Thank you for the update !

As for the information on Yoani, bear in mind that was 9 years ago.

An no, she was not "unbothered" by the Cuban state but was harrassed, kidnapped and physically attacked by it.

See :

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-blogger/husband-of-cuban-blogger-yoani-sanchez-attacked-idUSN2023224020091121

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article24563629.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoani_Sánchez

[Corylax18]

2 hours ago, Fugu said:

That's actually something I am also always wondering about Havana Times, another publication posting some pretty critical stuff...

I believe Havana Times is actually published from Venezuela. I don't know if that helps provide any cover for the contributors still living in Cuba, of which I believe there are several. This is one case where the incompetence of the Cuban authorities is a benefit. I'm sure they would love to completely eliminate any truly free and independent press in the country, but that's much easier said than done in today's digital world. 

[Fugu]

15 hours ago, nino said:

As for the information on Yoani, bear in mind that was 9 years ago.

That escaped me....

13 hours ago, Corylax18 said:

I believe Havana Times is actually published from Venezuela. I don't know if that helps provide any cover for the contributors still living in Cuba, of which I believe there are several.

Yes, seems a bit unclear. Wikipedia is quoting Nicaragua, but when you check out their 'About us', then the tenor is "from the island for the island". At least, as you say, many authors still seem to be Cuba based.