International Business

Cuban Cigar Industry Recovering: The country hopes to export 60 million cigars in 1995, 5 million more than in 1994, an industry executive said in a newspaper report. Francisco Linares, president of the Cuban cigar export company Habanos, said shortages of essential supplies for both tobacco growers and cigar factories caused a fall in Cuba’s tobacco and cigar production between 1990 and 1994. That meant the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in an important source of hard currency revenue for Cuba. Linares, quoted by the Communist Party daily Granma, said one measure to try to boost production is the transfer of state-owned lands to families with a long tradition of tobacco growing.