Caribbean sugar woes

The Caribbean region with ten exporting countries, was among the top 10 exporters in the world till mid 1960s and had peaked annual production of 1.4 million tons in 1965. Thirty years later, in 1995, the region's production dropped to 0.4 million tons. By 2002, only 6 exporting countries were left. 

Cuba shifted its focus from sugar to tourism as a major growth area of economy. In 1990, more than 90% of the foreign exchange earnings of Cuba were from sugar exports to erstwhile Soviet Union. But I. 2001, the major earnings came from tourism, $2 bn as compared to $441 mn from sugar.