Tobacco Harvest Down in Cuba

HAVANA – The harvest in Cuba’s main tobacco-growing region, Pinar del Río, which is considered to produce the world’s finest tobacco, is expected to be down 12% from last year’s levels, the official daily, Granma, reported May 15.

Nonetheless, the paper said the leaf this year is of a “higher quality” in order to “guarantee the product standards to which the industry and its export plans are committed.”

“The weather has been favorable for drying, which judging by samples and the first leaves of the harvest that have benefited from it should mean a more abundant supply of wrapper leaf (the cigar’s outer covering) and of high-grade leaf for manufacture and export,” Granma reported.

Corporacion Habanos S.A., a joint venture of the Cuban government and the Spanish-French company Altadis, commands 83% of the global market.