CAMAGUEY.- Charcoal exports were boosted last year in Camaguey province (central eastern Cuba) with the commercialization in the international market of almost 31,000 tons valued at more than 10 million dollars, one million more than in 2018.

With these figures, the estimated production and economic plans for 2019 increased, Mayra Romero, analyst from the Office of the Delegation in the Agriculture Ministry (MINAGRI) in the territory.

Currently, the price of a ton of this product obtained in Camaguey from marabou wood, ranges between 300 and 400 dollars, which is why its marketing generates an important source of foreign exchange for the country.

Specialists agree the existence of a large and expanding market for this product in the European Union and Asia, offers guarantees for the development of this good, which can also serve in USA, but it is prohibited by the commercial and financial blockade of its government against Cuba, affecting its population.

The biggest importers worldwide are China, Korea, Japan, USA, France, Germany, Spain and Italy, who use it industrially, in restaurants and cafes or for domestic use as a substitute for fuel.