| 词条 | Draft:Cuban Cigars and Their Economical Impact |
| 释义 | Cuban cigars and their impact on Cuba's economy Cuban Cigars are a very unique product that Cuba is known for. They are high quality Cigars that have little rivals in way of quality and popularity. The uniqueness of the Cigars has led them to be one of the top producers and exporters of the product. Cuba supplies roughly 80% of the Cigars to the world market. [1] History It is believed that cigar smoking in Cuba was popularized by the explorer Christopher Columbus. He first encountered tobacco in what we now know as Haiti and was later introduced to the concept of smoking in Cuba. The local indigenous Taino people dried the tobacco, wrapped it in a larger tobacco leaf and smoked it They brought back the idea of smoking to Spain where it rapidly gained popularity. Smoking became so popular that in 1542 Spain decided to establish a cigar production factory in their newly claimed territory of Cuba. Cuba has been a leading manufacturer of cigars ever since. [2] Many years later in 1717 King Philip V of Spain created a royal monopoly on the growing of tobacco in Cuba, that was known as the Estanco del Tobacco. A royal decree destroyed the monopoly around one hundred years later in June of 1817. This opened up free trade between the rest of the world and cuba as long as it was through Spain's ports. By the 19th century cuban tobacco production grew significantly. There were now around 10,000 tobacco plantations and 1300 cigar factories. [3] Production Cuba is located near the tropic of cancer, positioning it at an ideal place to grow tobacco. The Western region of Cuba has the ideal climate for growing and produces some of the best tobacco in the world. It has a relative humidity of 79% and a average temperature of 25C and an perfect amount of rainfall. On top of the ideal climate, the chemical composition of the soil in cuba is another important aspect that makes it the perfect place to grow tobacco. The cultivation begins with germination. The seeds are planted under the best conditions and remain there for 40 days, until they are ready to be moved to the fields. [4] The seeds are planted in stages that late in the year around October and grow for around three months. Each plant can produce up to 30 leaves that are then picked by hand. The fresh leaves are then taken to curing barns where they are dried and fermented. They are hung to dry in a process called “curing” that can take up to three months. Once the leaves are dried they are taken to the production factories where they will be rolled. The leaves that will be used for the wrapper are sorted and sprinkled with water to restore the moisture lost in the drying process. The cigar maker has the most demanding job. They take an assortment of leaves and wrap them in a bundle, making sure it is all rolled in the same direction. They then take the leaf that was separated to be the wrapper and smooth it out, trim the excess with a knife and wrap it around the bundle. They shape the end of the cigar where the smokers mouth will go then clip it to the desired length. The cigars are then inspected and sent to a vacuum fumigation chamber, then stored for three weeks to remove excess moisture. Finally they place a cigar band around the cigar and send them to be packaged. [5] What makes them special The three main aspects of Cuban cigars that make them so special is the ideal growing climate the unique soil composition and the experienced workers. The main aspect of cuban cigars that makes them so unique is the quality of ingredients, but also the attention to detail. It is said that it takes around 100 step from start to finish to make a cigar. There are many fakes on the market but true Cuban Cigars are crafted with the finest attention to detail. The fact that they are not easily accessible has made them more desirable worldwide. The government also controls the industry and works to maintain the high quality of goods and reputation of the industry itself. [6]Economical Impact Due to the fact that Cuba supplies 80% of the cigars to the world wide cigar market, it is an important industry to the islands economy. [7] Cuba exports roughly 259 million dollars worth of Cigars a year and it accounts for 14.7% of all their total exports. In 2017 the revenues from Cigar sales hit $500 million, which was a 12% increase from the previous year.[8] The tobacco industry in Cuba is government owned and ran and the cuban tobacco enterprise group known as Tabacuba employs roughly 40,000 people. [9] While the Cigar exports in Cuba bring a significant amount of revenue to the country there is still potential growth in the market. Due to the trade embargo with the U.S. Cuba is missing out on a large amount of trade opportunities. The U.S Market for Cigars totals around $8 billion annually and make up 34% of the total world market for Cigars. Habanos S.A, the distribution and marketing branch of the state run tobacco industry said that they would see a 25-30% gain of the U.S market immediately if they were to lift the embargo. [10] While they are missing out on revenue from the U.S sales to China are rising. China has the third largest country market for the Cigars from Cuba and had a growth of 33% in the last year. This makes them the market with the highest potential for growth and make up for some of the lack in revenue from the U.S. [11] |
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