• Submitted by: admin
• Business and Economy
• 10 / 25 / 2006

Mild weather "including a lack of hurricane activity which usually causes severe damages to tobacco seedbeds" and higher than average rainfall, were some of the favorable factors during the planting period that began in October 23, 2006.

These conditions have enabled a good preparation of the seedlings that will be planted in an area of close to 35,000 hectares of land, more than half of which is located in the westernmost province of Pinar del Rio.

Another favorable factor has been advances made over the past few years in the production of tobacco varieties that are more efficient and resistant to plagues and diseases, thanks to the hard work done by the Institute of Tobacco Research in the Havana neighborhood of San Antonio de los Banos.

With proper planting activities, adequate attention to crops, and abundant water supplies than, this year promises a better yield per acre.

There is a more general element that must be taken into account. Over the past few years, the production of tobacco has expanded across the island moving beyond the traditional tobacco-growing areas of Pinar de Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara and Havana.

A good example is the province of Las Tunas, a region that recently joined the nationwide effort to raise overall tobacco yields and has rapidly grown both in tobacco leaf production and the manufacturing of cigars.

During the recently initiated campaign, tobacco farmers are undertaking the most ambitious campaign in the province's history, planting 1,900 hectares to produce some 2,000 tons of dry tobacco.

According to information released by Cubas National Statistics Office the annual production of tobacco in the last six years was around 30,000 tons.

Source: Periodico26.cu