Cuba postpones cigar fair due to fuel shortages
HAVANA—Cuba’s annual cigar fair, which was set to be held the last week of February, has been postponed, organizers said on Saturday, as the island faces blackouts and severe fuel shortages brought about by a US oil embargo.
The cigar fair’s organizer Habanos S.A. said it decided to postpone the iconic event to “preserve its high standard of quality.” Habanos S.A., a joint venture between the state-owned company Cubatabaco and international firm Altadis, holds the global monopoly on Cuban cigar sales.
Every year, the company hosts the annual Habanos Festival, a key event for cigar aficionados and distributors worldwide, where attendees tour tobacco plantations, participate in auctions and witness the latest in craftsmanship.
Last year, the event closed with an auction in which $18 million was paid for a batch of highly coveted, hand-rolled cigars. The company last year also reported record sales of $827 million.
Several cultural events, including a book fair, have been postponed in Cuba this month as the island grapples with the most severe fuel shortages and power blackouts in years.
In late January, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sold oil to Cuba, as Washington puts more pressure on the island’s communist leadership to implement political and economic reforms.
Cuba imports about 60 percent of its energy supply, and had long relied on Venezuela and Mexico for much of its oil.
