Cuba sees 30 percent rise in sugar harvest in 2017

Cuba sees its sugar industry as being the fastest-growing sector of the economy next year, expanding about 30 percent, Economy Minister Ricardo Cabrisas said in comments published on Wednesday. Cabrisas told the National Assembly on Tuesday that government plans foresee the hotel and restaurant industry being the second-fastest growth area, increasing by about 8 percent, according to a report in the newspaper Juventud Rebelde.
Overall, the Cuban economy is expected to grow 2 percent next year, compared with a 0.9 percent contraction this year, President Raul Castro told the legislature on Tuesday. Cabrisas gave no forecast for raw sugar production in tonnes, according to his presentation as reported by Juventud Rebelde.