Hello, and welcome to the Latin America Weekly newsletter! In this issue: The collapse of Cuba’s sugar industry. The Iranian plane grounded in Argentina. Reactions to Gustavo Petro’s win.
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Cuban sugar farmers face bitter reality
The Cuban sugar industry’s dismal 2021 harvest is set to be followed by an even worse 2022 output. In December last year, the government in Havana had estimated a production of 910,000 tons for 2022, but this has fallen to just 474,000 tons in the latest estimates.
Why it matters. This will be the worst output ever by a country that was once legendary for its sugarcane production and still depends on raw sugar for 17.4 percent of its exports.
- The Cuban economy was already struggling due to the Covid-led disruption of the tourism industry and tighter U.S. sanctions enacted during the Donald Trump administration (only recently eased by Joe Biden’s government).
Trends. “It’s not a secret, the sector is in crisis,” says Dionis Pérez, the communications director at Azcuba, the official agency regulating the sector....