Cuban citrus producers are breathing a sigh of relief after being spared the wrath of hurricane Ivan.
The storm brushed the sparsely populated western tip of the island at around 160mph before heading off into the Gulf of Mexico.
Early reports out of Cuba indicate the country’s citrus industries have been spared on this occasion, although tobacco interests in the western region were damaged.
Grapefruit production in the Sabre region had previously been badly affected by hurricane Charley, and producers were worried the orange crop could suffer the same fate at the hands of Ivan.
Cuban president Fidel Castro has described the category five hurricane as ‘courteous’ for veering to the west.
However, Florida is now bracing itself for its third hurricane in two months, although at the moment, Ivan is not expected to threaten any citrus production.
World oil prices also climbed as energy companies shut production and evacuated workers from off shore rigs along the US Gulf of Mexico.
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