PINAR DEL RIO, August 29 (Víctor Rolando Arroyo, UPECI) - With only 5 percent of the tobacco harvest remaining to be collected, there is growing recognition that the production target set for the all-important wrapper leaf may not be reached. Without it, cigar production is paralyzed.
The provincial director for tobacco in Pinar del Río, the province responsible for Cuba’s best leaf, lay the blame for the shortage on the traditional curing process. He said that tobacco cured by the artificial process provided more than 20 percent of the wrapper obtained.
Private producers say the State tobacco enterprise did not deliver on its promise of curing by artificial means all the leaf selected for wrapper.
Also, they say the results obtained from the introduction of the new variety Habano 2000 were not as promised.
The lack of pesticides and insecticides became another factor; the crop this year was found to be susceptible to a new variety of mold, which comes about through a combination of heat and humidity in the curing sheds, a result of using asphalt shingles instead of the traditional thatch roofs.
Agricultural officials say they don’t have the resources to adequately repair the sheds where the leaf is cured.
Versión original en español
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