An annual cigar festival in Cuba’s capital city of Havana, which had been due to take place over five days in late February, has been suspended until further notice due to a worsening economic crisis.

The postponement comes as the island nation’s communist-run government endures its biggest test since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Habanos S.A., the cigar fair’s organizer, said on Saturday that it had suspended the festival “with the aim of preserving the highest standards of quality, excellence and experience that characterize this international event.”

The organizing committee said it was working on setting a new date for the fair, without providing further details.

The festival has previously welcomed more than 1,000 guests from around 80 countries, with attendees participating in auctions and touring tobacco plantations.

Premium Cuban cigars are globally renowned and considered of high economic importance, serving as one of the island’s main exports and a major source of foreign currency. They are illegal in the U.S., however, due to a decades-old trade embargo.

Last year, Habanos. S.A., a state-run entity that holds a monopoly on global sales of Cuban cigars, reported record sales of $827 million in 2024, reflecting a 16% increase compared to the year prior.

Cuba is currently grappling with a severe fuel shortage amid a U.S. oil blockade.

The Trump administration has effectively cut Cuba off from Venezuelan oil since launching a military operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3.

U.S. President Donald Trump has since called its government “an unusual and extraordinary threat” and pledged to impose tariffs on any country that supplies it with oil.

Cuba’s government, which has condemned U.S. pressure, has recently adopted measures to protect essential services and ration fuel supplies for key sectors.

Cuba’s dwindling oil supplies prompted the United Nations to warn of a possible humanitarian “collapse” earlier in the month.

“The Secretary-General is extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Cuba, which will worsen, and if not collapse, if its oil needs go unmet,” said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

China’s latest shopping festival, which wrapped up Wednesday, pointed to a pickup in consumption, as e-commerce companies reported strong sales of consumer electronics, as well as beauty and pet care products.

The 618 festival is one of the biggest promotional periods of the year in China as Alibaba, JD.com and other major Chinese e-commerce platforms roll out discounts.

This year, the festival’s gross merchandise value, a measure of sales over time, surged by 15.2% from last year to an estimated to 855.6 billion yuan ($119 billion), according to retail data provider Syntun.

That points to some recovery in consumption, after Syntun data for last year’s 618 festival revealed a year-on-year decline in sales for the first time in eight years. However, as has been the case with other annual shopping events, retailers expanded the promotional period to start May 13, a week earlier than in 2024, before ending June 18.

Still, JD.com said the number of shoppers participating hit a record high, more than doubling year on year between May 30 and June 18 to an unspecified figure. More than 2.2 billion orders were recorded across JD’s channels, which include online and offline stores, food delivery and quick commerce, according to the retailer.

Investors were surprised Monday by a better-than-expected 6.4% increase in national retail sales in May from a year ago — the fastest increase since December 2023, according to official data accessed via Wind Information.

Chinese consumers are spending “a lot of money on outerwear. Cosmetics and beauty doing really well,” Jacob Cooke, co-founder and CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, told CNBC on Friday. The company helps foreign brands — such as Vitamix and iS Clinical — sell online in China and other parts of Asia.

His firm estimates that gross merchandise value during 618 grew by around 14.1% from a year ago, pointing to a slightly slower increase than what Syntun reported.

He also pointed to growing numbers of customers outside of China’s big, well-known cities, based on the packages he’s seen leaving his company’s warehouse. 

Beijing’s trade-in program to subsidize certain consumer products such as consumer electronics helped boost sales.

Household appliances emerged champion among the categories, bringing in 110.1 billion yuan in sales, while beauty and skin care products clocked in 43.2 billion yuan in sales, according to Syntun.

Similarly, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba‘s Taobao and Tmall reported strong sales in categories eligible for government subsidies — with initial sales more than tripling from the same period around the Nov. 11 Singles’ Day shopping festival, indicating increased consumer interest in the newest batch of subsidies.

Taobao’s generative artificial intelligence tools also boosted sales. Its…