Cuban Sugar Producer Candidly Tells Díaz-Canel: Five Years Needed to Revive Sugar Sector

During a meeting at the Palace of Conventions in Havana, a Cuban sugar producer frankly informed Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa and leader Miguel Díaz-Canel that revitalizing the sugar sector will require a minimum of five years. This statement starkly contrasts with the regime's attempts to exude optimism about the industry's dire state.

Flores Betancourt, as reported by the state-run Canal Caribe, emphasized, "Sugarcane needs at least five years to recover the sector. But we are taking steps forward."

The producer posed a critical question that underscores the severity of the situation: "Aren't we supposed to produce the 500,000 tons needed for our basic basket? We cannot abandon this goal; these measures are closely tied to the people."

Industry Struggles Amidst Optimistic Projections

Also present at the meeting were the Secretary of the Council of Ministers, General of Division José Amado Ricardo Guerra, the head of the Communist Party’s Agro-Food Department, José Ramón Monteagudo Ruiz, and the president of Azcuba Business Group, Julio Andrés García Pérez. García Pérez shared that the 2026-2027 campaign will proceed without centralized planning, relying instead on each company's connections with various economic actors.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of a collapsing Cuban sugar industry. The 2024-2025 harvest ended with less than 150,000 tons, falling short of the 265,000-ton target, with only six out of 14 planned mills operational.

Bleak Outcomes and Future Strategies

The subsequent season was even more disastrous, with only the Tuinucú mill in Sancti Spíritus processing sugarcane, producing around 5,600 tons before halting in March 2026 due to fuel shortages. Economists noted that Cuba's sugar production today is less than in 1899.

Díaz-Canel acknowledged to attendees that the sector is "one of the most affected" in the national economy, attributing part of the crisis to the U.S. embargo and an "energy siege." He emphasized that transformations should aim at sector conversion, not abandonment, setting new metrics for evaluation: energy generation, molasses production, debt repayment, and salaries.

The proposed plan aims to transform sugar mills from energy consumers to generators through cogeneration, biomass, and renewable energy sources. "We need to get as many mills running as possible, even if not for grinding," he stated, prioritizing electricity generation over sugar production. He urged leaders that "every agreement must have a name, surname, and deadline," warning that "transformation is measured by results, not documents."

A concrete example of the proposed path is the Enidio Díaz Machado mill in Granma, which produced 5,000 tons with financial and logistical support from a private microenterprise, part of 176 economic transformations approved by the National Assembly in June 2026.

The starkest reality check at the meeting, however, came not from the president or officials but from the producer who outlined the necessary timeline and figures.

With a sector providing employment in 50 municipalities and historically serving as a backbone of Cuba's economy, the warning that recovery will take at least five years stands in sharp contrast to Díaz-Canel's call to act "now, not tomorrow, not when conditions improve."