Tobacco.org

Cigar Shipments Up for 2003 

The American premium cigar market is looking surprisingly strong. Imports of handmade cigars increased by 4.2 percent in 2003, to 276 million cigars, a performance that came on the heels of five percent growth in 2002. More premium cigars were shipped to the United States than in any year since 2000, when around 290 million cigars were imported...

"The first four months of 2003 were the worst four months that I've ever seen in history," said Manuel Quesada, owner of Manufactura de Tabacos S.A. and S.A.G. Imports Inc., the maker and distributor, respectively, of Fonseca and Cubita cigars, among others. "Weather had a lot to do with it. When weather hits from Chicago to Boston and from New York to Atlanta, that's a big chunk of the market right there. Prohibition started to come in heavily in 2003, so weather and prohibition combined to make the first four months of that year really terrible. The rest of the year," said Quesada, "made up for the first four months."

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