Exports+of+Sugar

In the world sugar economy, Cuba has ranked among the leading producers and exporters for generations. In the years just after Castro's rise, Cuba's exports of around 5 million tons annually provided almost one-third of global sugar exports. In 1959, over 50 percent of Cuba's sugar exports went to the United States, then the world's largest importer. In the summer of 1959, President Eisenhower cancelled the Cuban sugar quota for the rest of the year. Shortly after, the US ended all diplomatic relations with Cuba, and the Soviet Union agreed to purchase the sugar.