The Cuban tobacco campaign 2026-2027 officially began on Saturday, October 10th, with a national event held at the Tobacco Collection and Processing Company in the Pinar del Río municipality of La Palma, as reported by the state enterprise Tabacuba.
The goal set by Tabacuba for the entire campaign is the planting of around 20,000 hectares nationwide, a figure that represents a planned objective, not the area already cultivated at the time of the official start.
Of that total, around 12,000 hectares —60%— correspond to Pinar del Río, the province that has historically produced the largest harvest in the country and contributes more than 70% of Cuban tobacco.
The designation of La Palma as the venue for the event was presented by the authorities as a recognition of the work done by its farmers, workers, and executives, who are regarded as among the most outstanding in the sector in the Vueltabajo region.
At the time of the official start, hiring in Pinar del Río was still open to incorporate new producers, including applicants for land in usufruct intended for tobacco cultivation, as explained by the agricultural director of Tabacuba, Osvaldo Santana.
Santana himself specified that the event on Saturday did not mark the official start of work across the entire province: seven of the 11 municipalities that make up Pinar del Río were already planting tobacco before that date.
The schedule set by Tabacuba distributes the planting as follows: 10% of the areas are planted in October, 55% in November, 30% in December, and the remaining 5% in the first days of January 2027, with an estimated average yield of 1.10 tons per hectare.
The campaign mobilizes over 10,000 producers across the island each year.
Santana described the season as "difficult" and pointed out the energy crisis as one of the main factors complicating the sector's outlook.
This difficulty has specific precedents: during the previous campaign, the lack of electricity for irrigation ruined more than 385 hectares of tobacco just in Consolación del Sur, where the harvest reached 1,301 tons against a target of 1,778.
To reduce that dependence, Tabacuba set the objective that 50% of the areas with electric irrigation in Pinar del Río operate with renewable sources during this campaign, mainly through photovoltaic systems.
The previous campaign (2024-2025) covered about 15,000 hectares planted nationwide, of which 10,378 were in Pinar del Río, positioning the current target at a significantly more ambitious level.
Tobacco is one of the main export items of Cuba and the fourth sector that contributes the most to the country's gross domestic product, although the sector is currently facing increasing pressure: the Habanos Festival 2026 was definitively canceled in July due to the energy and economic crisis, depriving the sector of an international showcase that had raised approximately 18.72 million dollars in humidifier auctions during its 2025 edition.
Despite the adverse situation, Santana emphasized that the sector will take on the new challenges: “The campaign will be difficult again, and it will require the effort of the tobacco growers from Pinar del Río, who are aware of their role in the national economy.”
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