Despite the fact that our economy seems to be in a funk right now, cigar imports to the U.S. have held remarkably steady, according to data released by the Cigar Association of America.

During the month of April, the U.S. imported 23.86 million for a gain of 1% over April of 2007. For the first 4 months of the year, imports came in at 75.6 million.

• Once again and to no ones surprise, the Dominican Republic was the top exporter to the U.S. market. with 44% of the total for the first 4 months of the year.
• Honduras came in second with 13% of the total
• Nicaragua was third followed by Mexico.

Lets just hope that Congress doesn’t mess up a industry that isn’t in a slump. Higher taxes can and most probably will cause imports to decline, creating hardships for retailers in the U.S., producers around the world and just as importantly the workers who roll and prepare cigars for exporting.

One can hope…..

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