Vendors sell coffee made by themselves in Granma province, Cuba, on June 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Joaquin Hernandez)
According to the coffee director, the harvest plan for 2020 is 10,000 tons and to reach 30,000 tons in 2030.
HAVANA, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cuba produced almost 10,000 tons of coffee in 2019, which represents the start of the recovering of that product, an official said.
Elexis Legra, coffee and cocoa director at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the figure represents the largest production in the last 12 years, as cited by official daily Granma on Thursday.
The official said that 2019 was the most productive year in the last decade with regard to coffee and cocoa, as a result of the development program of these crops undertaken by the ministry.
The program covers the renovation of the growing areas and the improving of the cultivation techniques, aiming to meet the domestic demand and increase exports.
It also includes better payment to farmers involved in growing and harvesting of the bean.
According to the coffee director, the harvest plan for 2020 is 10,000 tons and to reach 30,000 tons in 2030.
Cuba's largest coffee production took place in the 1960s when the Caribbean island used to harvest about 60,000 tons a year and had over 167,000 hectares devoted to the aromatic bean. ■
