Havana sales down but future seen as brighter

摘要

Last year was a bad year for luxury goods in general and for premium cigars in particular, according to Mr Manuel Garcia, the deputy president, marketing, Habanos SA. But the future looks brighter, he believes. It is difficult to obtain reliable figures on sales of Cuban cigars, but, according to one source, about 95m premium hand-rolled Havana cigars were exported from Cuba last year, down from about 103m in 2001, while estimates for this year stand at about 115m. Looking further ahead, exports are expected to stabilise at about 120m-130m pieces.