Cuba to hold its main trade fair online because of crisis

Cuba’s main trade fair will move online for the first time as the island struggles with an intensifying economic and energy crisis. Organizers announced that the 42nd Havana International Fair, known as Fihav, will take place virtually in November because of tighter US sanctions.

The event will still include an in-person business forum on November 26. The 2025 fair brought together exhibitors from 52 countries, and Cuban officials say the new format will allow participants to display their products virtually despite what Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga called “the complex context” created by Washington’s maximum-pressure policy.

The minister said Fihav would also give Cuba a chance to brief its international partners on 176 free-market reforms approved in June to confront the economic crisis. The government is seeking to attract investment as the country faces high inflation, prolonged blackouts and persistent shortages of food and medicine.

Since January, the administration of President Donald Trump has imposed an oil blockade and a series of sanctions on Cuba, according to the report. Several airlines and international companies have suspended operations on the island.

The crisis has already forced authorities to cancel the Habano Festival in February. The event normally draws cigar enthusiasts, business representatives and specialized journalists, and generates several million euros each year through a well-known auction.

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the complex context