Cuba's annual international cigar festival scheduled for the last week of February has been officially postponed, as the island nation is facing severe fuel shortages and widespread power outages due to US oil embargoes.
In a statement issued on February 14, Habanos S.A. - the event organizer - said the postponement decision was made to "ensure high quality standards" for this iconic festival. The announcement did not specify the time to re-organize the 26th festival.
Habanos S.A. is a joint venture between the state-owned company Cubatabaco and the international company Altadis, holding a global monopoly on the Cuban cigar business.
Every year, the company organizes the Habanos Festival - an important event for collectors, distributors and cigar lovers around the world. Attendees have the opportunity to visit tobacco plantations, participate in auctions and witness the famous handmade cigar rolling technique of the Caribbean island nation.
Last year, the festival closed with an auction raising $18 million for a particularly sought-after handmade cigar batch. In the same year, Habanos S.A. reported record sales of $827 million.
Not only the cigar festival, many other cultural events in Cuba, including a book fair, were also postponed this month as the island nation struggled with severe fuel shortages and power outages assessed as the worst in many years.
At the end of January, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sells oil to Cuba, amid Washington's increased pressure on the Havana government to implement political and economic reforms.
Cuba currently has to import about 60% of its energy needs. For a long time, this country has largely depended on oil supplies from Venezuela and Mexico.
However, shipments from Venezuela were canceled in January after President Nicolas Maduro was arrested in a US military raid. This development also led to increased US surveillance of the Venezuelan oil industry.
Supply from Mexico also stopped in mid-February after Mr. Trump issued a tax warning.
Earlier this week, 3 Canadian airlines canceled flights to Cuba after the country's government announced that there was no more aircraft fuel to refuel at domestic airports. Some other airlines still maintain routes but will refuel in the Dominican Republic before arriving or leaving Cuba.
The fuel crisis also directly affected the tourism industry. Some travel companies have canceled tours, while the Cuban government was forced to close some hotels and relocate tourists to save electricity.
In a separate statement, state-owned tobacco company Tabacuba expressed regret over the postponement of this year's cigar festival, saying that the reason stemmed from the "complex economic situation that the country is facing due to the increase in economic, trade and financial blockades" imposed by the US.
