Cuban cigars. Cuban economy. Blog #2

Cuba has the best tobacco in the world due to the soil and the climate of the island. Cuba has been famous for the cigars production in the country since the 1800's. We also know that Cuba exports many cigars to Europe, Canada, and South America. As competition grew with the cigars and the other producing countries, the price also raised. The Cuban cigars right now are going anywhere from $20 to $500 a cigar. The most famous Cuban cigar is the Cohiba cigars which are also the most expensive ones. The best tobacco in Cuba is grown in the Pinar del Rio province. Also we all know that cuban cigars are illegal in the United States due to the embargo. Tobacco in Cuba is grown and processed very carefully and is very well taken care of. The employees that work in the tobacco farms get paid very low money and are exposed everyday to many viruses and bacterias due to the high attraction of bugs and worms that the tobacco plants produce. Also after the tobacco is processed and grown, which takes approximately 3 years, it is taken to the factories of cigars where the tobacco will be rolled. The cigars rollers in Cuba have to go to school and graduate to be able to work in a cigar factory in Cuba. the quality control of the cigar in Cuba is very strict. A cigar roller will roll every day about 80 cigars, and only about 30 will make it to a box of Cuban cigars. The cigar rollers also get paid a very small amount of money. Each farmer and a cigar roller will make approximately about $10 a month and will produce enough for the government to make on cigars about $20,000 in cigars. I know it sound ridiculous but these are facts. Since the competition raised with the cigars since the 1970's the cigars price also did and Cuban cigars became very expensive. The Cohiba Behike which is Cuba's most expensive cigar is valued at $500 a stick and it comes in a special made humidor box that holds 40 cigars and it costs $20,000. This box has to be ordered directly from Cuba and paid for before it is made. Since Cuban cigars became so expensive, it was far from many cigar lovers budget, and that's when the black market with Cuban cigars started. Up to date, all the countries that import Cuban cigars also have the very well known counterfeit ones too, which affects Cuba's economy in a big way. Since these fake Cuban cigars are made locally, usually in Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Miami, they are very cheap and much easier to sell to customers. Most of the time a person who does not have very much experience smoking cigars will get fooled by these counterfeits since they will be offered at a much lower price than they are marketed. Penalties are applied for selling counterfeits Cuban cigars but they are made identical to the ones sold in Cuba, the only difference is the taste of the cigars and that will only be known if the customer smoking it has experience or knows a true Cuban cigar. Since these counterfeit Cuban cigars started being sold, that has caused Cuba to go from making $400-500 million a year to &150-250 million a year, which is a drastic change of 50% less cigars being exported. Fortunately, Cuba has been able to maintain a balance due to the tourists that visit Cuba each year. Minimum wage is paid to the employees in Cuba which has also stopped the people in the country the pursuit of cigar rolling careers and tobacco farms. In the past three years the production of fake Cuban cigars has raised to about 25% more than the last 15 years. Cuba has not lowered the prices of their cigars but Cuban cigars still remain the top sellers in the world.
Some of this information i researched it at Google and got from such websites as http://www.cuban-cigars.ws/cuban_cigars/cuban_cigars.html, and http://www.cubancigarshistory.com/, but most of this information i know it and read it in newspapers, and magazines.
This is Cuba's gdp per capita

Cuba's economy

Cuba's economy is mostly controlled by the government. It is a socialist and communist country which means that the government controls everything. Free education and free health is provided to the residents of the country. Their climate helps the economy of the country very much. as well known the best cigars in the world are made in Cuba, and of course the tobacco is grown there. Also the sugar canes are a resource of income. Crops like sweet potatoes, beans, potatoes, rice, corn etc are exported to many countries from Cuba. Coffee grown in Cuba is also a major export and a great income resource. The fishing in Cuba since its located in the Caribbean its very good and is also used as an income resource. The fishing industry in Cuba is one of the largest in Latin America exporting fish to almost all the countries America. The country's most important income comes from the tourists that visit the island from Canada, Europe, and south America. Holland, Canada, China, Spain, Italy, and Venezuela are the country's most important trading partners.
Cuba suffered its biggest economy down in the 1990s when the Soviet Union fell, since they were their biggest importers of goods. Ever since then, they have been slowly building their economy up by upgrading the facilities to the tourists in the island, the manufacture of cigars and exports of crops , and fish. The Cuban economy has suffered some down ever since the fall of the Soviet Union by big hurricanes in the early 2000s but has managed maintain its economy level.Cuba has stopped in the last few years it imports from its top trading partners by almost 50%. The global crisis has affected Cuba in a major way because the country has very low money reserve.
The unemployment in Cuba is as we could say "steady" since the jobs are controlled by the state. Cuba has obtain a large amount of financial help from Venezuela which has helped the economy of the country to raise a bit. Cuba's annual growth rate since 2001 is from 3% to 8% up to date. Cuba's major imports are petroleum, food, machinery, and chemicals.