Off the wire
• Caixin China manufacturing PMI hits five-month low  • New Zealand steps up aid to support cyclone-battered Fiji  • China Hushen 300 index futures open higher Tuesday  • China treasury bond futures open higher Tuesday  • Myanmar forms advisory commission to union parliament  • Japan's jobless rate drops to 3.2 pct in January  • Chinese yuan strengthens to 6.5385 against USD Tuesday  • Chinese shares open higher Tuesday  • Market exchange rates in China -- March 1  • Roundup: Conflicts continue despite ceasefire signing in Myanmar  
You are here: 　 Home

Cuban cigar sales grow 4 percent in 2015

Xinhua, March 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

The sales of Cuban cigar grew 4 percent in 2015 and generated a total revenue of 428 million U.S. dollars, an executive of state-run cigar maker Habanos S.A. said Monday.

The growth was due to demand from "mature" markets such as Spain, Germany and China, as well as the rise of the tourism industry in Cuba, Leopoldo Cintra Gonzalez told the opening of the 18th International Habanos Cigar Festival.

He noted that Habanos achieved a global market share of 70 percent in units and 80 percent in value in 2015, despite the U.S. trade embargo.

As part of Havana and Washington's efforts to normalize relations, the U.S. government has relaxed restrictions on its citizens travelling to Cuba, allowing them to bring back a limited number of cigars as well as Cuban rum.

The number of cigars brought home by Americans is too small to impact Cuban cigar sales, said Javier Terres, Habanos vice president of development. But the measure, he said, will help build a customer base by introducing Americans to Cuba's premium hand-rolled cigars.

"We would be delighted to compete in the U.S. market when the legal conditions allow, and we expect to garner 25 to 30 percent of that market in a few years," Terres said.

Habanos now markets 27 different brands of Cuban cigars to some 150 countries. Endi