Cuba’s 2017 tobacco harvest to yield 30,000 tonnes

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Cuba’s current tobacco harvest is coming to a close, with almost 30,000 tonnes of tobacco leaves harvested, with the sale of the final product, Cuban cigars, expected to increase the revenue of the island’s main export, and have a beneficial impact on its economy.

The state-owned Tabacuba business group reported yesterday that they had a “favourable” harvest, as all cigar companies in the country fulfilled the plantation process totalling nearly 30,000 tonnes of tobacco leaves, yet not all of them will go on to be made into Cuban stogies.

Gonzalo Rodriguez, agricultural director of Tabacuba, noted that the famed western province of Pinar del Rio, where the best leaves are grown, contributed to roughly 70% of the national production and will try to reach 19,000 tonnes.

“We’ll advance on a project to promote tobacco plantations in the eastern and central areas of the island in order to supply the Holguin cigar factory which has a demand of more than 8,000 tonnes of leaves.” Mr Rodriguez added.

He also spoke of the increased use of ‘covered tobacco’ within Cuba’s cigar industry, this way of growing is different in the fact that they grow the tobacco inside a cloth covered house that filters the harsh direct heat of the sun’s rays but retains the heat, allowing for bigger albeit thinner leaves.

“These thin leaves collected at these plantations are used to cover the outside layer of premium cigars to give them the finest taste of all,” he said.

The government run Tabacuba also said that the island hopes to complete the harvest by mid-July so they can then start planting seeds for the next tobacco season.

Last year, Cuba reached 24,000 tonnes of leaves during its tobacco harvest, meaning they are up by almost 6,000 tonnes, which they will probably need, as Cuban cigars have never been more popular, especially now the embargo has been abolished between Cuba and America. Cigar exports are the fourth source of revenue to Cuba’s gross domestic product, which reached 445 million U.S. dollars in 2016.

Tabacuba runs 96 cigar factories in the nation, employing 250,000 people, with 46 of the factories dedicated exclusively to producing cigars for exports. They are entirely rolled by hand by an expert ‘Torcedor’. To see one of them in action, press play on the video below.

 

 

Video courtesy of Havana Room/Youtube

 

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