Tobacco.org

U.S. embargo on Cuba benefits Europe, Canada firms 

As Raul Castro moves to raise living standards, welcomes new foreign investment in mining, oil, tourism, possibly agriculture and even ethanol, opportunities will open up, said the executive, but only for non-U.S. companies.

European, Latin American, Israeli and Arab investors already have a foot in the door in Cuba in the cigar, rum, citrus and hotel industries. With no American competition to worry about, they are looking at a windfall when U.S. sanctions are eventually lifted. . . .

The increased consumption longed for by Cubans will benefit European companies already producing goods in Cuba, such as ice cream and soft drinks by Nestle, beer by the world's second largest brewer InBev, soap and shampoo by Anglo-Dutch giant Unilever, and cigarettes by Brazil's Souza Cruz, a subsidiary of the British American Tobacco group. . . .

Cigar maker Habanos, half owned by Britain's Imperial Tobacco since it took over Franco-Spanish cigarette manufacturer Altadis, is expected to double sales the day American smokers can buy its premium hand-rolled cigars.

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