- Title: CUBA: Annual cigar festival kicks off in Havana
- Date: 22nd February 2011
- Summary: SLATE INFORMATION
- Embargoed: 9th March 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Cuba, Cuba
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVADTJV0EG8XQDULPWSYSSQ4Y1H6
- Story Text: Havana lights up for cigar festival, as increased sales help the island earn more profits.
The annual cigar festival kicked off in Havana on Monday (February 21), with executives announcing that markets in the Middle East and China had given sales a welcome boost in the face of new smoking bans elsewhere.
Representatives from Habanos S.A., the worldwide distributor of Cuban cigars, were there for the launch, along with the island's Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade and Investment, Aurelio Mollineda.
Mollineda talked of the importance international cigar sales for the cash-strapped island.
"Habanos, S.A., is today a worldwide luxury product but it's in the eight most important groups in our imports. It will be an unparalleled fair, with great participation, and it will be successful for all," said Mollineda.
Images of Cuban women lighting cigars and former President Fidel Castro puffing away are iconic images from the Caribbean island whose name is synonymous with fine cigars.
Buenaventura Jimenez Sanchez-Canete, co-president of Habano S.A., said overseas sales have become important source of foreign exchange, with Habanos S.A. generating $368 million in sales last year.
"We sell in a luxury segment. The worldwide market still has its ups and downs, but, despite that, we closed [the year, 2010] with slight growth that makes us optimistic to continue growing in 2011," said Sanchez-Canete.
According to Habanos S.A executives, sales of the Cuban cigar rose 2 percent in 2010 and China overtook Germany to become the third largest market behind Spain and France.
Jose Luis Fernandez Maique, Habanos S.A., co-president remained confident about sales in the Spain, despite the new smoking restrictions.
"There are anti-smoking campaigns but smokers keep finding legal solutions to smoke the products, whether it's in places outfitted in accordance with the law. We have markets -- like Spain, Germany, Belgium, Holland and others -- where they've really adapted to conditions and we expect the Spanish market will react the same way," said Fernandez Maique.
Habanos dominates the market for hand-rolled, premium cigars except in the United States, where a long-standing trade embargo against the communist-led island prevents it from doing business.
The United States is the largest cigar market in the world, with annual consumption between 230 million and 250 million cigars. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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