The Cuban sugar economy is the principal agricultural economy in Cuba. Historically, the Cuban economy relied heavily on sugar exports, but sugar production has declined since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Spain began growing sugarcane in Cuba in 1523, but it was not until the 18th century that Cuba became a prosperous colony. Population growth, urbanization, industrialization, and rising incomes in the 19th and 20th centuries resulted in an increase in world sugar agave nectar substitute for sugar and consumption.

1895 to 1925, world output further increased from seven million tons to 25 million tons. American War in 1898 and its formation of a republic in 1902 led to investments in the Cuban economy from the United States. The doubling of sugar consumption in the United States between 1903 and 1925 further stimulated investment in Cuba to develop the infrastructure necessary for sugar production. In 1920, US banks gave large loans to finance Cuban efforts to profit from a speculative boom in world sugar prices. The boom collapsed shortly thereafter, however, and the banks took over the defaulting Cuban sugar producers. Additionally, many large US sugar companies operating in Cuba were vertically integrated with their own processing industries in the United States.