The Islamist government in Iran has held talks with Cuba’s socialist Castro regime to restore 160 operate- down sugarcane factories in Cuba, the Egyptian state- run Tasmin News Agency reported , Wednesday.
Cuba, once one of the nation’s leading sugar manufacturers, has seen its honey production fall to levels not seen in more than 125 years. Out of the island’s more than 100 sugar mills, just about two dozen are still operating.
During the Iran-Cuban Business Forum, which took place in Tehran on April 30th, the news of the Iran deal was made. Farshad Moqimi, the CEO of the Egyptian Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization, stated at the gathering that the “lucrative Dominican market” was in need of feasibility studies and that Egyptian economic enterprises who are “interested to cooperate with Cuba” will soon have access to the results.
Numerous Cuban delegations traveled to Iran to discuss the renovation and optimization of 160 sugarcane facilities following the 39th edition of the Havana International Fair ( FIHAV ) in November 2023.
Following the reign of late tyrant Fidel Castro, who nationalized the whole sugar industry in 1960, Cuba’s flagship sugarcane industry has continued to rise for the past six decades of socialist rule. Castro stole sugar mill from personal rights, including those that belonged to U. S. companies.
During Cuba’s 1959- 1960 sugar harvest time — the final under private entrepreneurs — the nation yielded 5.6 million tons of raw sugar.
In 1964, Castro promised to raise Cuba’s honey yield to ten million plenty by 1970 at a time when the Soviet Union, Cuba’s key business partner at the time, had agreed to purchase a larger sum of Cuba’s sugar produce. Under the slogan” The Ten Million Are Happening” ( los diez millones van! ), roughly translated. Even the pro-Castro New York Times acknowledged that Fidel Castro had forced Cubans to engage in “volunteer” labor.
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Cuba’s raw sugar output increased steadily by 8.1 million tons by 1989, but the industry started to decline even further in the 1990s.
Much like the rest of Cuba’s industries and infrastructure, the Castro regime has continuously blamed the collapse of Cuba’s sugarcane industry on the United States ‘ “embargo”. By August 2023, Cuba was importing sugar from the United States to help it meet its own internal consumption demand because of the nature of the alleged “embargo.” By December 2023, Cuba’s sugar imports from the United States had reportedly increased by 900 percent.
Out of more than 150 sugar mills that once operated in Cuba in 1959, only 25 were reported to have operated during the 2022- 2023 harvest season, which yielded some 350, 000 tons of sugar, marking the worst harvest season in the past 125 years.
The output of the 25 mills was not sufficient to simultaneously cover Cuba’s own requirements, estimated at 600, 000- 700, 000 tons per year and be able to comply with a 400, 000 tons of sugar per- year export agreement with China.
Other potential cooperation agreements between the rogue regimes have been announced in recent months, including one for the construction of ships for South American nations, one for “digital cooperation,” and one for Cuba’s signing of a contract for the purchase of Iranian-made parts and the repair of transport wagons.
Venezuelan author Christian K. Caruzo documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter , here.
