Cigar Imports Steady So Far in 2007!

Los Angeles, April 25 – One of the most commonly used measures of cigar popularity in the U.S. is the monthly report of cigars imported into the country. It’s developed from data reported by the U.S. Customs Service by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.On that measure, the renaissance of cigar smoking and enjoyment is continuing. The figures for February showed 23,095,000 premium (handmade) cigars imported into the U.S., a 3% decline from the same period in 2006, but still good.As usual, the Dominican Republic was the leader, with 12.84 million cigars entering the U.S., a little better than the 12.64 million brought in during February 2006. Nicaraguan imports were also up a little, to 4.53 million against 4.50 million last year.Only Honduran imports were down, losing almost 15% of last year’s total at 5.63 million compared to 6.61 million in 2006. Small amounts of cigars also came in from Mexico (65,000) and the Philippines (24,000).For the year, the figures are good and even slightly ahead of the roaring year in 2005. Through February, some 34.49 million premiums have been imported into the U.S., compared to 33.64 million last year and 32.45 million in 2005.

Courtesy: