Big Tobacco Crop Loss in Pinar del Rio, Cuba from Blackouts

[El Presidente]

https://havanatimes.org/news/big-tobacco-crop-loss-in-pinar-del-rio-cuba-from-blackouts/

Big Tobacco Crop Loss in Pinar del Rio, Cuba from Blackouts

June 27, 2025

Estimated at over 400 hectares (nearly 1,000 acres)

All varieties of the leaf grown in the municipality have been affected. / Tele Pinar

Consolación del Sur officials complain that part of the crops have been ruined due to lack of irrigation.

By 14ymedio

HAVANA TIMES – Constant power outages not only wear down the patience of Cubans but also take a toll on key sectors of the country’s economy. Tobacco—one of Cuba’s prized export products—is among the hardest hit. According to official media, just in the municipality of Consolación del Sur, in Pinar del Río, 385 hectares were lost this season due to blackouts.

A report published by the local newspaper Guerrillero details the losses which affected “all tobacco varieties” grown in the area, including the sol en palo (sun-grown) and Virginia types.

Even at the start of the growing season, prospects for the municipality’s harvest were not promising. Only 1,500 hectares of tobacco were planted, and this figure has since dwindled due to the lack of electricity needed to operate irrigation systems. “We estimate the loss at half the contracted yield, which means 0.6 tons per hectare; as a result, we’re looking at a total production of 1,301 tons, down from the initial plan of 1,778,” said Mario Luis Zamora, director of the Integrated Tobacco Company in the municipality, in statements to Guerrillero.

According to Zamora, by this time his company should have harvested about 2.5 million cujes (bundles of cured tobacco), but the harsh conditions have yielded only 1.9 million, just 79% of this year’s target.

Zamora remains hopeful that conditions will improve for the next growing season—though this seems unlikely given the state of the country’s electrical grid—and that they will be able to plant 2,100 hectares. To support both the current production of 327 tons and the next cycle, he added, 1,036 curing barns have been built, and enough zinc has been received to roof another 85. In total, about 1,800 roofed barns are expected for next year.

As for the current crop, they are working with what they have. “All of the selection centers are already operating and processing the collected tobacco, and we aim to have more than 80% of the producers with clean fields and balanced accounts by July 26th,” he said.

With tobacco production clearly in distress, Habanos S.A.—a joint Cuban-Spanish venture—has begun paying more attention to machine-made cigars produced at the Internacional Cubana de Tabacos (ICT) factory in Havana. These are not Habanos, nor do they have the prestige of being hand-rolled by traditional cigar rollers, but the brand earns significant revenue from these small, easy-to-smoke and more affordable cigars, making them among the most profitable products. In 2024 alone, machine-made cigars brought in $38 million of the company’s total $827 million in revenue.

With 400 employees, Internacional is the only industrial cigar factory in Cuba and is capable of producing around 800,000 units per day. Any delay in production—even a minor one—means a loss, since, as company officials told AFP weeks ago, “everything produced is sold immediately.”

In 2001, the company became a joint venture with Tabacalera, a Spanish company which, according to AFP, belongs to “a consortium of Asian investors whose identities have never been officially disclosed.” The factory operates 64 machines capable of producing up to 42 cigars per minute under the Cohiba, Partagás, Montecristo, and Romeo y Julieta brands. To keep up with production, workers told the agency that staff are divided into three shifts per day, working from Monday to Sunday.

Nonetheless, Habanos S.A. cannot rely solely on machine-made cigars. Its clientele, accustomed to luxury and willing to pay top dollar, prefer thick, exotic vitolas (cigar sizes), sometimes priced in the thousands. Still, with the $827 million the company brought in during 2024—a record-breaking figure—it is likely to stay afloat for some time.

First published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.

[Fugu]

Idiots! No other words, really.

[ha_banos]

Might be more useful as a new thread. But it's too hot and I'm lazy. 

Hard to protect your national investments when you are that corrupt.

UK trade figures with Cuba. 10m£ in beverages and tobacco imported in 2024, up 25%. Less than I'd have guessed.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68513257f2ccfcfd2f823f23/cuba-trade-and-investment-factsheet-2025-06-19.pdf

[Jimmy2]

Terrible news. 

[zacca]

With Habanos’ “price harmonization” a few years back, they should have plenty to be able to put back into “R&D”…but profits going into corrupt pockets is surely more important that shoring up production. 

BTW, I’m not pretending to be an expert on Cuban economics or anything here, but this is just common sense. Your main cash cow and you let it rot in the fields.

[SCgarman]

7 hours ago, zaca said:

With Habanos’ “price harmonization” a few years back, they should have plenty to be able to put back into “R&D”…but profits going into corrupt pockets is surely more important that shoring up production. 

BTW, I’m not pretending to be an expert on Cuban economics or anything here, but this is just common sense. Your main cash cow and you let it rot in the fields.

There is no such thing as R&D there. They'll just hand down more price increases to compensate for the situation. 

[avitus]

On 6/29/2025 at 6:06 AM, ha_banos said:

UK trade figures with Cuba. 10m£ in beverages and tobacco imported in 2024, up 25%. Less than I'd have guessed.

Those are interesting numbers, I was wondering how Canada is doing. Surprisingly, Canada’s imports from Cuba totalled US$461.17 million in 2024: $12.56M in fish, $5.06M in cigars, $2.97M in spirits, and a striking $439.87M in 'commodities not specified according to kind' (any idea what the hell it is?). 

[Puros Y Vino]

30 minutes ago, avitus said:

Those are interesting numbers, I was wondering how Canada is doing. Surprisingly, Canada’s imports from Cuba totalled US$461.17 million in 2024: $12.56M in fish, $5.06M in cigars, $2.97M in spirits, and a striking $439.87M in 'commodities not specified according to kind' (any idea what the hell it is?). 

IIRC, the "Commodities" might be related to mining. There's a Canada operation called Sherritt in Cuba mining Nickel.  I've even got a few of their company branded cutters and glass humijars.

https://sherritt.com/operations/

[MrBirdman]

If making a bad situation worse was an Olympic sport, Cuba would be the undisputed world champion. 

[El Presidente]

The province of Camagüey produced only 4,000 tons of sugar during the 2025 sugar harvest, a meager 17% of the target, further confirming the slow and agonizing demise of the sugar industry across various provinces in Cuba.

 

This was acknowledged by the governor of the territory Jorge Enrique Sutil Sarabia in a recent meeting with local journalists, reported the official newspaper Adelante.

The decline of the sugar harvest is further confirmed by serious logistical issues, a shortage of fuel and lubricants, industrial breakdowns, and the loss of qualified personnel. Current production is insufficient to meet even the basic needs or social consumption, the source stated.

 

The sugar mill Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, located in the municipality of the same name, was the only one in the province responsible for grinding, with a plan for 23,500 tons of sugar, primarily intended for the regulated family basket in the area, emphasized the official newspaper Granma in February.

Sutil, who is preparing to report at the Fifth Ordinary Period of Sessions of the National Assembly of People's Power, starting on July 16, emphasized that "we are not at all satisfied with the results of our management or that of the province."

He also referred to another issue troubling the Agramontino territory, the constant blackouts that “not only burdens everyday life, household chores, or personal matters but also strikes hard at the economy, hinders production, and slows down processes.”

The aging population and demographic decline are also taking a toll. Today, Camagüey has about 653,000 inhabitants, of which 24% are over 60 years old. Furthermore, three-quarters of the population is concentrated in urban areas, which overloads already deteriorated infrastructures and basic services such as water supply, waste collection, and transportation.

He also mentioned that the 2024-205 school year ends with a teacher coverage of 72%, although he stated, “alternatives were sought to ensure that each student received the content.”

 

[Rhinoww]

Rinse repeat for Cuba unfortunately.