cubanos

Fewer Cigar Smokers Want Cubans, Production Drops

Filed under: Cigars

The Cuban cigar industry is struggling under the dual pressures of smoking bans and economic malaise. Consumers around the world aren't buying as many sticks, and Cuba is cutting production. In Pinar del Rio, only 22.4 million leaves were harvested this year, off 14 percent from 26 million last year. Local media reports: "There was a reduction in planting due to limitations in resources caused by the economic crisis," according to the Financial Times.

With 70 percent of the market – not including the United States – the Cuban cigar business is a global force. So, its financial performance has broad implications, and the data doesn't look good:

According to the most recent report released by the government's statistics office, the industry has fallen on hard times in recent years, with production of cigars for export down from 217m in 2006, to 123m in 2007 and 73m last year as the business drew on its inventory.

Export cigar sales plunged to $218 million last year from $243 million in 2008 ... but keep in mind that the effects of the late 2008 financial crisis didn't really come to bear until 2009.

Of course, consumption in the United States is unchanged, because you can't go below zero. Nobody smokes Cuban cigars in the United States because they're illegal ... right?