Cigar Imports Down Slightly Through Third Quarter
All year long it looked as if we were heading for a slowdown in the cigar business. The most recent data suggests that 2023 could possibly end up as good as 2022.
cigar imports were roughly flat for the first three quarters of 2023, down 0.8 percent from the same period of 2022, according to the Cigar Association of America. This is quite a difference from the first quarter, when shipments were down 8.8 percent, and an improvement over the August numbers, which showed a decrease of 3.2 percent.
With 2022 cigar shipments at such an amazing level—imports hit 464 million cigars last year, a level not seen since the 1990s—it seemed inevitable that 2023 would result in a drop-off. But this most recent data suggests perhaps the drop-off won’t be as big as expected, if it comes at all.
The powerhouse of the year so far has been the Dominican Republic, the home of such brands as Arturo Fuente, Davidoff, La Flor Dominicana and many Montecristo and H. Upmann cigars, among so many others. Dominican cigar shipments are up 13.2 percent for the year, with 104.2 million cigars shipped.
Nicaragua, the leading producer, is down 2.6 percent for the year so far, to 181.4 million cigars. Honduras, the No. 3 exporter, had a big slide, down 16.6 percent, to 51.2 million cigars.
Total exports for the year through September were 338.9 million cigars, compared to 341.5 million for the first three quarters of 2022.
There is a full quarter of data left to report, so it’s a bit early to speculate on where the year will end up.
