What's different a year after the wildfires? | SaltWire #novascotia #firefighting #wildfires #newsHAVANA - The Cuban sugar harvest is winding down at the lowest tonnage since 1900, forcing the government to import and putting more pressure on its domestic rum, soft drink and pharmaceutical industries, according to official reports, two economists and a rum industry source.
“This means we will have to import and, of course, less sugar means there is less syrup and alcohol for various industries and, of course, rum,” said Cuban economist Omar Everleny. Everleny said government data released this week showed the production of sugar cane-based alcohol used for various products from rum to pharmaceuticals was down more than 50% since 2019, as was most manufacturing since tough new U.S. sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic gutted the import-dependent country’s foreign exchange earnings and kicked off a grueling economic crisis that continues today.