The dexterous fingers of Cuba’s cigar makers rolled out 81.5 million of the much sought-after smokes last year, compared with 75.4 million in 2009, according to a report released by the National Statistics Office on its Web page.
Cuban cigars Habano
Cuba’s finest tobacco leaf is grown and cured in westernmost Pinar del Rio province where the just-concluded harvest produced 25.4 million leaves, according to local radio reports, compared with the previous year’s 22.4 million leaves.
China has climbed into third place, behind Spain and France, among the largest markets for Cuban cigars.
Cigars are one of Cuba’s top exports.
The global financial crisis put a dent in sales of luxury goods such as Cuban cigars, while smoking bans that have spread around the world are the bane of the cigar industry.
Habanos is trying to counter the effects by offering more lines of small cigars that can be smoked quickly during a work break and cigars tailored for women smokers.
Cuba’s premium cigars dominate the world market with 70 per cent of sales.
That jealously guarded market share excludes the United States, where Cuba’s cigars are banned under a decades-old trade embargo against the Communist island.
