Hurricane Lili battered Cuba's tobacco industry when it roared across the western part of the island. The hurricane destroyed many of the curing houses used to dry tobacco for the country's world-famous cigars . .
The hurricane, which crossed the island on Tuesday October 1, "has been a catastrophe for most of the tobacco industry", the communist party daily Granma.
Lili's heavy rains and high winds flattened about 1,800 of the old curing houses in the tobacco-growing community of San Juan y Martinez in the western province in Pinar del Rio, leaving only 102 standing .
There are about 14,500 curing houses in the region , and more than 10,000 of those were damaged or destroyed . Some are made from weathered wooden planks , while others are made of zinc sheeting. The precise extent of damage as not yet been determined. .
Tobacco leaves must be dried several months in curing houses before they are ready to be made into cigars. Unless the leaves are cured correctly, they are useless for cigar making.Hurricane Lili battered Cuba's tobacco industry when it roared across the western part of the island. The hurricane destroyed many of the curing houses used to dry tobacco for the country's world-famous cigars . .
The hurricane, which crossed the island on Tuesday October 1, "has been a catastrophe for most of the tobacco industry", the communist party daily Granma.
Lili's heavy rains and high winds flattened about 1,800 of the old curing houses in the tobacco-growing community of San Juan y Martinez in the western province in Pinar del Rio, leaving only 102 standing .
There are about 14,500 curing houses in the region , and more than 10,000 of those were damaged or destroyed . Some are made from weathered wooden planks , while others are made of zinc sheeting. The precise extent of damage as not yet been determined. .
Tobacco leaves must be dried several months in curing houses before they are ready to be made into cigars.