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Honduras was the second-largest exporter to the U.S. with almost 6.0 million handmade cigars, up from 5.6 million a year ago. And Nicaraguan production continues its surge with 5.3 million cigars sent to the U.S., much better than the 4.5 million total in February of 2007. For the year, Honduran exports to the U.S. are up 11.1 percent to 8.3 million and Nicaraguan imports have surged by 14.4 percent to 9.2 million. Other countries with reported exports of premium cigars to the U.S. include Mexico with 273,000 sticks and the Philippines with 182,000. Total cigar imports, including handmade, machine-made and little cigars continue to climb. For the first two months of 2007, the combined total was 74.9 million units, but one year later the figures are up by a startling 34.7 percent! That includes 32.3 million handmade cigars – 32.0 percent of the total – plus 35.7 million machine-made cigars (35.4 percent) and another 32.5 million little cigars (32.6 percent) for total of 100.9 million cigars of all kinds. One more good indicator: imports into the U.S. of cigar leaf tobaccos has also increased significantly. Leaf imports increased by almost 84 percent in February and for the year is up 28 percent to 7.27 million kilos or about 16 million pounds. So much for a cigar bust. The U.S. also exports cigars, almost all machine-made or little cigars. Large cigars – essentially all machine-made – increased by 28.2 percent for this year over last year, to 20.1 million. Little cigars, which rocketed ahead in 2007, have dropped off a bit so far this year, down 11.1 percent to 21.0 million units. Cigar leadership eying return of SCHIP legislation: The Executive Boards of the Cigar Association of America and International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) met in Washington, D.C. on April 17 to review the status of the dangerous SCHIP legislation which has already passed the Congress twice and has been kept from becoming law only by two vetoes by U.S. President George W. Bush. According to a note circulated by IPCPR Legislative Director Chris McCalla, both boards are concerned that a new SCHIP bill could be introduced again as an election-year tactic. Both groups agreed to “continue educating Congress on the negative impact that the previously proposed SCHIP bill’s tobacco excise tax increases could have on the economic viability of the premium tobacco industry.” In addition, both groups reiterated the “position of the industry reflected in the joint IPCPR-CAA letter of December 11, 2007 (a tax of 53.12% with a cap of $125 per 1,000 large cigars or a flat tax of $0.12 per large cigar) continues to represent the industry consensus based on the most recent SCHIP proposal in Congress.” ~ Rich Perelman CLASSIFIED ADVERTISINGCigar Humidors and Cigar Accessories at Humidor Vault! Your online cigar humidor source, with rock-bottom pricing and fantastic customer support!Like sports? Get news and commentary you won’t see in your morning newspaper at TheSportsExaminer.com! Join the examination! A limited amount of classified advertising is available in this space on a weekly basis. For details, call Pat Harris at (213) 365-7965 or inquire by email by clicking here. Have an opinion? You can send it using the “Comment” button below! Don’t forget to register for our drawing for free cigars and accessories! Just click on the “Register & Win” button above; enter today! Looking for a cigar party? Take a look at our exclusive list of hundreds of cigar events across the country, listed by state and date, only on CigarCyclopedia.com!
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Did you know?
“A Macanudo Baron de Rothschild cost you $2.60 in 1975, $3.70 in 1995 and $5.20 in 2005, a 100% increase in 30 years!
