More than 11,300 recently harvested tobacco cujes burned in a fire this Wednesday night in Jovellanos, Matanzas. The official press has confirmed the news, advanced by a user on social networks, and has disturbed the calm of the residents of Circumscription 5 of the San Carlos Popular Council.
According to the author of the information, Yosier Argüeso Miranda, an official from the Gelma group –dedicated to agricultural logistics– and a resident of the area, they were the residents of the drying houses, which belong to the Matanzas Tobacco Collection and Processing Company. , who realized that they were burning at around 10 pm.
Together, the main tasks focused on cooling the premises and their adjoining areas to prevent eventual spread, according to the expert.
Rolando Tirse Fernández, from the Fire Department, explained that the coordination with the fire fighting forces of the neighboring municipalities allowed the fire to be controlled relatively quickly. Together, the main tasks focused on cooling the premises and their adjoining areas to prevent a possible spread, according to the expert.
They could not, however, prevent up to 100 homes from being affected by the incident and from losing electricity due to overheating of the network and damage to the power lines that the Cuban Electric Union is working to resolve.
Regarding the events, several unknowns remain unclear, such as the number of tobacco houses that burned and how the fire could have started. Although the damage is only preliminary, the loss of such a quantity of cujes, with which between 2,300 and 2,800 cigars could be made, represents a great impact on the local company.
The national panorama regarding the tobacco crop is also bleak, after the disaster caused in September 2022 by the passage of Hurricane Ian, which hit Pinar del Río in particular, the leading province of the Island in the sector, of which comes about 65% of the leaf.
Its damages were described as “the greatest in history” for Cuban tobacco by the provincial Agriculture delegate, Víctor Fidel Hernández, who placed 90% of the houses affected by the hurricane, out of a total of 12,000. In addition, “around 11,000 tons of tobacco” that were already in the dryers got wet, and had to undergo a new process or be discarded.
Much of that sheet, some 6,000 tons, was taken to other provinces to continue the process, including Matanzas, Sancti Spíritus, Villa Clara and Cienfuegos.
Much of that sheet, some 6,000 tons, was taken to other provinces to continue the process, including Matanzas, Sancti Spíritus, Villa Clara and Cienfuegos.
At the end of the year, the Government estimated that it had recovered a total of 12,544 tons of damaged leaves and more than 1,640 hectares were plantedonly 26% of the 6,300 planned for a cycle that closed in January.
In November In 2022, a fire also devastated the cargo of a train that was transporting leaf from Pinar del Río, although the amount of tobacco lost in the event was not offered to the public.
This product is one of the most profitable for the Cuban Government, that he pocketed last year, thanks to the exports of Habanos SA., 545 million dollars. Just a year earlier, earnings were $568 million (2% less, due to the change in currency value).
At the recent Habano Festival – from February 27 to March 4 – the Government raised the “record figure” of 11,220,000 euros for the auction of six humidors, one of them, signed by the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel, to 4,200,000 euros.
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