Cigars are not necessarily a popular product among Europeans. From time to time, we may see someone with a cigar in their mouth, but it is rather an unusual sight. In North and South America, the smoking culture is much more developed. Despite the harmful substances, people are able to enjoy their taste and aroma.
The Dominican Republic is the world’s largest producer of cigars. It is in this country that enormous quantities are produced and sold. It is worth emphasizing here that the current situation was influenced by the Cuban Revolution of 1953, which caused a large part of this industry to move from Cuba to the neighboring island. However, it is not surprising—the Dominican Republic is undoubtedly open to foreign investors.
This is precisely why the so-called Free Trade Zones (Spanish: Zonas Francas de Exportación) were established here. To describe them briefly, these are zones in which enterprises are exempt from taxes if they use Dominican products and employ Dominican labor. This is one of the factors that has placed the Dominican Republic among the world’s leaders in tobacco product manufacturing. Below are some figures.
In 2021, the value of exports from free trade zones reached 7.143 billion USD, while in 2020 total exports stood at 5.827 billion USD. This represents an increase of 22.7%! For the first time in the Dominican Republic’s history, the export threshold from free zones exceeded 7 billion USD. Among the subsectors with the highest growth were jewelry (74.9%), tobacco and cigar production (38.6%), and textile production (40.8%).
Returning to the main point, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in the Dominican Republic recently announced record sales of Dominican tobacco. In 2021, exports of cigars and cigarettes reached 1.2 billion USD, which represents a historic achievement over the past 10 years. This is an increase of 32% compared to 2019 and 30% compared to 2020.
Where do they export? Primarily to the United States market, which dominates among tobacco product importers. As much as 84.25% of total production goes there. Other countries include Germany (3.5%), Honduras (1.6%), the Netherlands (1.1%), and Switzerland (1%). It is worth emphasizing here that Asian countries are increasingly importing Caribbean tobacco. In 2017, cigar import growth reached 19% compared to the previous year. Among the finest cigars, one can distinguish brands such as Balmoral, Macanudo, and Felipe Gregorio.
As you can see, the Dominican Republic is undeniably beautiful beaches, lush nature, and beautiful weather all year round. Tobacco products are one of the symbols of this country, but that is not all. Dominicans can also be proud of their rum, of which they reportedly consume over 80%, but more on that next time…
Jędrzej Pacak
