Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1544874
44 tobaccoasia Issue 3, 2026 May / June By Timothy S. Donahue The lights go out in Havana, but in the cigar factories, the rollers keep rolling. That's not a metaphor. It's the operating model. Across Cuba, blackouts are routine, fuel is scarce, and lo- gistics are strained by an escalating US oil embargo. Entire sectors of the economy are slowing or ending. Tourism is faltering, transportation is inadequate and unreliable, and food shortages are worsening. Yet inside the country's legendary cigar factories, the rhythm of cigar-making continues— bunch, bind, mold, wrap, cap, cut, and age. Although Habanos S.A., the global distribution arm of the government-controlled tobacco industry, has not released its 2025 figures despite numerous requests, the company reported US$827 million in sales in 2024, a 16% year-over- year increase, even as conditions deteriorated across the island. Power blackouts have occurred for at least the past three years, but this year, due to the oil blockade, they have been the worst. Cuba's tobacco industry is still generating revenue—but not because it is producing more cigars. Price increases and scarcity are driving value, but they are also exposing the system's fragility. From farms to factories to retail shelves thousands of miles away, the system is under pressure. Shipments are delayed, inventories are shrinking, and workers are leaving. Retailers are rationing products. Even the industry's flagship global event has been disrupted. Festival del Habano—an event celebrating premium Cuban cigars that typically draws more than 1,000 visitors from about 80 countries—has been postponed. Organizers cited the need to "preserve its high stan- dard of quality" amid blackouts and fuel shortages. The message is clear: the crisis in Cuba is no longer something that can be managed with short-term fixes. But the response has not been to retreat. It has been to adapt. Solar panels are replacing fuel. Irrigation is being rebuilt from the ground up. Tobacco waste is being recycled into raw materials. Across every level of the supply chain, from government officials to rollers to shop owners, the same reality is acknowledged: the future is uncertain, yet the work continues. Cuba's energy crisis is structural rather than temporary. The country imports roughly 60% of its fuel, historically relying on Venezuela and Mexico. That supply chain has collapsed in recent months. Venezuelan exports have stalled due to a US blockade, and Mexican shipments have halted amid US tariff threats. Cuba's Cigar Industry is Running on Sunlight and Hope Pressure is mounting across Cuba's tobacco industry, from farms and factories to retail shelves.