Tag: TabaCuba

  • New Tractors Strengthening Cuba’s Tobacco Production

    New Tractors Strengthening Cuba’s Tobacco Production

    Cuba’s tobacco sector is investing in modern machinery to boost production efficiency, with 300 tractors delivered to individual producers and cooperatives across multiple provinces last year, the Tabacuba Business Group told Granma on Monday. Financed through farmers’ foreign currency earnings and a flexible installment program, Tabacuba provides the equipment at cost, without profit, to expand access for growers.

    José Liván Font, First Vice President of Tabacuba, said the initiative contributes hundreds of millions of dollars annually to the national economy and supports small-scale family operations. In Pinar del Río, which produces 70% of Cuba’s tobacco, 75 tractors were delivered alongside photovoltaic systems for irrigation and lighting, enhancing energy independence and operational efficiency.

    Tabacuba said it plans to import another 300 tractors and related agricultural implements in 2026, aiming to further improve working conditions, increase production, and raise incomes for tobacco producers nationwide.

  • Cuba Boosts Logistical Support for Tobacco Growers

    Cuba Boosts Logistical Support for Tobacco Growers

    Cuba’s state-owned tobacco group, Tabacuba, intensified its support for local growers ahead of the 2025 harvest, deploying new logistics and equipment to improve efficiency and reduce reliance on intermediaries. The group added five new Howo fuel trucks to the six existing vehicles, along with 12 tractors and trailers, aimed at ensuring direct delivery of diesel and materials to farms and facilitating transport from the port of Mariel. Marino Murillo, president of Tabacuba, said these measures are expected to benefit around 7,000 growers, while the first Freely Convertible Currency supply store for tobacco producers was also inaugurated, offering a range of agricultural and hardware products.

    Additional programs include technical support for the cultivation of covered tobacco in Sancti Spíritus, targeting high-quality export crops for about 20 producers. The initiative provides growers with guidance across all stages of production, from seed planting to curing. Previous investments this year included six Mercedes-Benz vehicles for growers, highlighting Tabacuba’s strategy of combining logistical support with incentives to stabilize and encourage tobacco output amid concerns over declining production and its impact on export revenues.

  • Cuba Pushing Renewable Energy

    Cuba Pushing Renewable Energy

    TabaCuba the state-run arm of Cuban cigar production, announced that it would increase its use of renewable energy sources in several of its facilities in Pinar del Rio, Cuba’s largest tobacco leaf-producing province.

    All tobacco export factories should have this type of equipment in the first half of this year, TabaCuba’s president, Marino Murillo, told the Cuban News Agency.

    Artemisa, Villa Clara and the westernmost territory already have the type of equipment to increase productivity.

    According to the official, pre-industrial processes and irrigation to save energy carriers with submersible pumps are the priority.

    He also stated that they are betting on renewable energy sources so that the productive processes do not stop in the event of an interruption of electricity services.