I have been spending a lot of time in both countries recently but it is beside the point as now is not the time they are planting. The rainfal has been good in setting up for a promising year and if they get too much rain between now and October, farmers will have to make preperations to plant later in the season which is not that uncommon. Becuase of problomatic weather this time of year, the fields are almost alway fully picked by the end of august if not earlier.
The real difficulty with this time of year with the rain is the RH level. When it is too damp in the factory, they will completely stop prodcution because it is bad for the tobacco and can make the materials prone to mold and difficult to roll. More and more factories are actually investing in large air conditioners (pepin being one) so that they dont have to deal with any work stops on account of humidity. I think the past three years have been progressevily better and and better so I hope this year continues on that path. There is a new wrapper out there that is a Corojo seed grown in Ecuador. It is unlike anything I have smoked and I think it will be the next big thing. Be sure to keep your eye out for cigars with this wrapper in the next 12-24 months. I think it will be widely used with new cigars at next years RTDA. I am currently working on a blend with it that will be available Q1 of next year.
