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Hurricanes Smoke Cuban Cigar Biz

Double blow from Gustav, Ike to cost billions

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 18, 2008 2:55 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Back-to-back blows from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike have the Cuban tobacco industry reeling, reports the Miami Herald. Hurricane Ike alone destroyed half of this year's tobacco plants, more than 3,000 tobacco-drying barns and nearly 9,000 homes for workers. The destruction occurred just days after Gustav had already wreaked havoc on a similar scale.

It takes about five years for harvested tobacco to come to market as cigars. ''That's going to be billions in losses,'' predicted one veteran cigar maker. Cuban cigars are widely regarded as the world's best. They have an extra mystique in the US, where the long-standing trade embargo against Cuba makes them especially sought after.

Tobacco workers roll cigars at the Partagas Cigar Factory in Havana. Hurricanes Gustav and Ike have seriously damaged Cuba's cigar industry.
Tobacco workers roll cigars at the Partagas Cigar Factory in Havana. Hurricanes Gustav and Ike have seriously damaged Cuba's cigar industry.   (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
A woman sorts tobacco leaves by hand at a warehouse in the western province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Tousands of tobacco drying sheds were destroyed by hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
A woman sorts tobacco leaves by hand at a warehouse in the western province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Tousands of tobacco drying sheds were destroyed by hurricanes Gustav and Ike.   (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
A couple with a child walk along a street during rains caused by the approach of Hurricane Gustav in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, earlier this month.
A couple with a child walk along a street during rains caused by the approach of Hurricane Gustav in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, earlier this month.   (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
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