Sunday, January 04 2009
The economy is down and so are U.S. cigar imports in 2008, but unlike other sectors, it's hardly a collapse.
Figures from the
Cigar Association of America, using base data from the U.S. Customs Service, showed that 23.0 million cigars were imported into the U.S. for October 2008. That's considerably less than in 2007 – 30% less – when 33.2 million
cigars came in, but that included an unknown quantity of higher-priced little cigars.
Even so, the total for the year (10 months) is 218.7 million cigars imported into the U.S., which would have been a record (!) for imports as late as 1996 as the Cigar Boom gained momentum. With November and December still to go, it's reasonable to project that the full-year total will be in the area of 265-275 million premium cigars, which would still be among the top 7-8 years on record, albeit 20% off from 2007. Highlights of the current report included:
=> The difference in imports in October between 2008 and 2007, as has been the case all year, was from the Dominican Republic. In October 2008, 8.69 million Dominican-made cigars were imported into the U.S., compared to 18.27 million in 2007. That's a 52.5% drop. For the first 10 months of 2008, Dominican imports totaled 89.47 million compared to 145.0 million last year; that's down 40%.
At the current rate, Dominican premium imports for the year will just edge past 100 million, the lowest total since 1995. However, the Dominican is still the worldwide leader in cigar production; through October, a total of 527.28 million little, machine-made and premium cigars were exported to the U.S. alone.
=> Honduran imports continued at strong levels: 7.34 million in October, compared to 8.05 million in October, 2007. For the year, however, Honduran imports were up 6.2% to 69.52 million compared to 65.45 million last year.
=> Nicaraguan imports are also ahead of 2007, but just barely. In October 2008, 6.74 million cigars came from Nicaragua compared with 6.39 million in 2007. For the first 10 months of the year, some 57.30 million Nicaraguan cigars have come into the U.S., 3.7% ahead of 2007 (55.26 million).
=> Small amounts came from Mexico (212,000) and Costa Rica (36,000), meaning that the "big three" accounted for 99% of all U.S. cigar imports in October and for the year.
While premium cigar imports are down, it's worthwhile to note that overall cigar imports – premium, machine-made and little cigars – are up by 15.0% for the year. Although premium imports are down, little cigars are up by 18.0% to 327.97 million and machine-made cigars are up by 32.5% at 620.94 million!
All together, 1.17 billion cigars of all kinds have been imported into the U.S. through October. Somebody's still smokin'!
=> While the leading cigar trade groups, the Cigar Association of America and the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association have spearheaded the effort to oppose legislation such as the S-CHIP bill in Washington and smoking bans in states such as Michigan, there has not been – until now – a grass-roots organization that represented the voice of the smoker.
Cigar Rights of America (www.CigarRights.org) was formed in June of 2008 and already counts thousands of members nationwide. Its efforts are aimed directly at smoking bans and to oppose those who would further disable the ability of cigar smokers to enjoy a completely legal product.
Its impact has already been felt in Los Angeles, where co-founders Keith Park (Prometheus International) and Jeff Borysiewicz ( Corona Cigar Company) have helped oppose both of the anti-smoking motions and have used CRA funds to hire a well-connected public advocacy firm to help a team of cigar lovers make their case for opportunities for smoke directly with elected officials and their staffs.
A one-year membership is only $35 and a lifetime membership can be obtained for just $500. It's an easy to help expand the voice of the cigar smoker nationwide.
- Rich Perelman in Los Angeles
Want more? Join us for daily coverage of cigars, accessories, people and issues at CigarCyclopedia.com.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Reprinted by permission. "Heard in the Humidor" is a publication of Perelman, Pioneer & Company. Copyright 2009; All rights reserved.
