Government readjusts downwards its forecast for the tobacco harvest

[El Presidente]

https://diariodecuba.com/economia/1707686436_52788.html

The Government readjusts downwards its forecast for the tobacco harvest in Pinar del Río

The aftermath of Hurricane Ian, which affected that Cuban territory almost a year and a half ago, is the main obstacle to increasing planting.

 

DDC

Pinewood of the river 11 Feb 2024 - 22:20 CET

A veguero guataquendo his plot in Pinar del Río. ALEJANDRO ERNESTO EFE 

Only 7,700 of the 12,905 hectares of tobacco planned for the current harvest in Pinar del Río have been planted at this point in 2024, which is why the provincial authorities decided to readjust their production forecast downwards.

According to the official Granma newspaper , the change in expectations occurred despite the fact that the agreed planting program in 2023 has been extended until February 20. With this, the aim is to plant some 10,200 hectares.

The main reason for the adjustment is the lack of sufficient curing (or drying) houses for the leaf. The state-owned company Tabacuba indicated for the report that, of those structures damaged by Hurricane Ian in September 2022, only a fraction insufficient for the expected crop has been recovered.

The meteor, which crossed over some of the territories that produce the best tobacco leaves in Cuba, damaged about 10,000 of the 12,000 natural wood houses in Pinar del Río. Of them, 4,776 have been rebuilt to date, and there are 620 in the completion phase.

The above, Osvaldo Santana Vera, provincial coordinator of the Tabacuba Business Group, acknowledged to Granma , does not allow us to aspire to more, despite the fact that "intense" work has been done, he said, in cutting and throwing wood to recover the damaged infrastructure.

Another adjustment to the current situation has been to concentrate the planting of tobacco in the farmers with the best historical results and in the best meadows , with the purpose of getting "the maximum possible benefit" from the coming harvest.

The report indicated that export-quality tobacco, which the Government sells at high prices abroad, is harvested by about 6,000 producers. The majority have their farmland in the municipalities of Pinar del Río, Consolación del Sur, San Juan y Martínez and San Luis.

Santana Vera commented that each state company was directed to apply regrowth cultivation in the planted areas until the end of November 2023, seeking greater production on the same area. And he assured that "all companies have the supplies and fuel necessary to conclude the campaign", something that the majority of vegueros in the rest of the country cannot boast of.

Tabacuba recognized that the recovery of the tobacco infrastructure will take at least two years , so for the 2024-2025 harvest the forecast is to reach 14,000 hectares, still below what was planted before Ian.

The report added that the planting of the leaf in Cuba extends in Pinar del Río to 780 hectares of covered tobacco. These plantations provide the leaves for the production of Havana cigars, while in the rest, lower value varieties were planted, such as Burley and Virginia, used in the already depressed cigar manufacturing.

According to official figures, the state monopoly Habanos SA reported in 2022, before Ian's scourge, income of 545 million dollars , an increase of just 2% compared to the previous year and evidence of the fall in production of the traditional crop somewhat that neighboring countries , such as the Dominican Republic, are taking advantage of. 

Despite what was published by Granma , estimates made in 2023 indicated that the damage caused by Ian in Pinar del Río would mean "between eight and ten years" of recovery for the province , which produces 65% of the country's tobacco, to return to its normal state. usual state. 

Ian's scourge also highlighted the precarious conditions in which many vegueros live, despite it being an export item that in 2021 alone reported $568 million to the State coffers, according to figures published by Habanos SA, which sells all Cuban brands.

 

[ha_banos]

1 hour ago, El Presidente said:

And he assured that "all companies have the supplies and fuel necessary to conclude the campaign"

Not in line with the other articles at all. As always the proof is in the pudding.