Decline of the sugar industry is a reflection of Cuba’s economic crisis

Cuba, which in the past was the world leader in sugar production, would produce only 300,000 tons in 2025 while it seeks resources to plant cane, in a bitter symbol of the decline of agriculture on the island.

Sugar was once the “king” of Cuba, when some 100 mills produced millions of tons of unrefined sugar for domestic consumption and export.

But the shortages of fuel, fertilizers, machinery and labor that affect Cuba’s agricultural sector in general, have especially harmed the sugar industry, with production setting record declines year after year.

This year having less cane means a record of only 15 mills open for production, compared to 24 in 2023, the government said.

“We have to plant cane,” Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdés said this month. “The first thing is the cane. If there is cane there will be a harvest, but we have less and less cane.”

The Cuban government has not yet reported on last season’s production, although Reuters estimated at a record low of 300,000 metric tons of unrefined sugar, according to provincial media reports and other sources.

The figure is similar to the production at the end of the 19th century. Ten of the 13 sugar-producing provinces have reported production plans this year similar to their harvest during last season.

In the eastern province of Las Tunas, once a major sugar-producing region, the local Communist Party newspaper reported that “during the period from December 2020 to June 2024, areas planted with sugar cane decreased by 48%. .

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