More than 11,000 hectares of tobacco will be harvested. This is better than last year but less than the initial target of 14,000 hectares.

The 2025-2026 tobacco season in Vuelta Abajo province has ended with 11,426 hectares planted, according to Cuban press reports citing officials from the state-owned company Tabacuba. This figure, a slight increase compared to the previous season, is nevertheless lower than the initial target of over 14,000 hectares.

Quoted by Guerrillero, the newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) provincial committee in Pinar del Río, Osvaldo Santana Vera, Tabacuba’s coordinator in the province, stated that 19,000 seed plants were lost due to heavy rains in September. The drought also impacted the planned planting schedule, particularly in the northern part of the province.

Regarding energy availability, the manager points out that 50% of the tobacco fields in the province are irrigated using electrified systems, which, given the country’s energy crisis, has negatively impacted the harvest.

“For about two years, the Tabacuba group has been promoting a program aimed at changing the energy mix, with alternatives that prioritize the use of renewable sources in irrigation systems,” he explains. “During the previous season, 213 systems were installed, work is underway on another 832, and 2,000 more are on order and will arrive in August of this year, in preparation for the next 2026-2027 season, so that at least 50% of irrigation will be covered by photovoltaic energy.”

“In Pinar del Río, 100% of the warehouses, leaf sorting centers, and stripping centers are equipped with these lighting systems,” explains Osvaldo Santana Vera.

The province of Pinar del Río, home to Vuelta Abajo, typically accounts for 60 to 70% of the tobacco harvest destined for Cuban cigars exports.

During the previous season (2024-2025), the westernmost province of the country harvested approximately 10,500 hectares of tobacco, according to official figures.

Photo : ©Luc Monnet