- Deaths and repression sideline Suu Kyi's party ahead of Myanmar vote
- S. Africa offers a lesson on how not to shut down a coal plant
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
- India pile up World Cup high to rout Sri Lanka
Cuban cigar exports soar amid demand for luxury goods
International sales of Cuban cigars, the island nation's most emblematic export, soared 31 percent last year as global demand rises for luxury products, the country's main tobacco exporter said Monday.
Jorge Perez Martell, commercial vice president of Habanos S.A., said the company had seen a 31 percent increase in turnover in 2023, at the start of the capital's annual cigar festival.
He said this represented "a turnover of $721 million in 2023."
"With the end of the pandemic, the luxury market in general and the consumption of premium cigars in particular have seen very strong growth in demand in all regions," said Jose Maria Lopez Inchaurbe, the company's vice president in charge of development.
He said that the development of high-end specialized products, and "limited and exclusive editions" were among the main drivers of this growth.
The sale is a boon for the Cuban economy, which retracted two percent last year amid its worst crisis in three decades.
Inchaurbe said that in terms of value, China remained the largest global market for cigar exports, followed by Spain, Switzerland, Germany and the United Kingdom.
As a region, Europe is the main market, buying up 56 percent of Cuban cigar exports.
Cuba cannot sell its cigars in North America -- the world's biggest market for the product -- due to a trade embargo imposed by Washington on the communist island since 1962.
While western Cuba, the country's traditional tobacco-producing area, was hit by a powerful hurricane in 2022, the "industry is recovering," said the co-president of Habanos S.A., Luis Sanchez-Harguindey Pardo de Vera.
Habanos S.A. is a joint venture between the Cuban State and Tabacalera S.L.U, headquartered in Spain.
It is the only enterprise charged with the export of "habanos" cigars.
Long owned by the British group Imperial Brands, Tabacalera has since 2020 belonged to a secretive consortium of Asian investors, known as the Allied Cigar Corporation.
Cuban tobacco, renowned for being among the best in the world, is one of the island's top export products along with nickel, seafood, vaccines and medical services.
O.M.Souza--AMWN