Cuba Stares Down Its Lowest Sugar Harvest in Over a Century, Forcing Once-Booming Rum Industry to Embrace Imports

Cuba's world-famous rum industry faces a dire future as the nation grapples with a historic sugar shortage. At the end of April, President Miguel Díaz-Canel announced that the country produced 350,000 metric tons of sugar in the last season, the lowest annual tonnage on record since 1900. The harvest represents a precipitous drop from last year's 474,000 tons, which itself only met 52% of the country's target. Amid a long-standing trade embargo and gasoline shortages, farmers struggle to maintain a legacy that once positioned Cuba as the world's largest sugar exporter. According to government officials, domestic rum, soft drink and pharmaceutical industries will be forced to adjust their strategies until harvests return to before-seen levels.

“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,” Cuban economist Omar Everleny said, according to Reuters.

The fate of Cuban rum has long hinged on a tug-of-war between international powers. Throughout the Cold War, Soviet subsidies to Cuba facilitated a booming spirits industry that propelled brands like Havana Club onto the world stage. At its peak, the Soviet Union provided around $4.3 billion in aid to the nation per year, equivalent to over 20% of Cuba's GDP between 1986 and 1990. Though the domestic economy was stagnating, generous trade agreements allowed rum brands to make millions in exports to the European market. By 2002 — a little over a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union — Cuba announced the permanent closure of over half of its 156 sugar mills. Reports indicate that only 23 of the island's remaining mills are grinding sugar as of last year. For the rum industry, decreasing sugar production is only half of the problem. Havana Club CEO Christian Barré says that the U.S. accounts for 35% of the world rum market, a difficult loss for Cuban distillers forbidden from selling to the country under a decades-old trade embargo. Though proposed legislation has attempted to lift the ban, Cuban rum will primarily rely on Canadian, European and Caribbean consumers for the foreseeable future. [botmc-promo]