Cuba Sets Ambitious Cigar Export Target for 2025

Government aims to export 70 million premium cigars as global demand rebounds

During a recent visit to Cuba’s tobacco heartland, Tabacuba president Marino Murillo announced bold new goals: 80 million cigars to be rolled in 2025, with 70 million destined for international export.

The announcement, aired by Cuban state broadcaster Canal Caribe on 2 June, was made during Murillo’s tour of the Pinar del Río province, the region responsible for 65% of the country’s tobacco production. This area, and particularly the renowned Vuelta Abajo, is widely considered the source of Cuba’s finest tobacco.

According to Murillo, “We need to produce more than 80 million cigars in the factories and deliver more than 70 million for export.” If achieved, this would represent a significant increase over current levels. In 2024, Cuba reportedly exported approximately 50 million cigars—well below pre-pandemic levels, when annual production surpassed 90 million units.

Tabacuba, the state-run entity overseeing Cuba’s entire tobacco chain—from cultivation to factory floor—supplies Habanos S.A. with cigars for the global market. It also produces handmade cigars for domestic consumption, known locally as de consumo nacional.

Cigar exports remain one of Cuba’s top revenue streams. “Tobacco has become the country’s leading export,” said Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel during a February 2025 visit to the H. Upmann factory in Havana. “It is growing significantly and benefits all those involved in the production.”

Díaz-Canel also stressed the cultural importance of the industry, calling tobacco “part of the country’s history” and “what sets us apart in the world.”

While Cuba’s export economy remains largely dependent on raw materials such as nickel, gold, and cobalt (47.5% of exports in 2023), rum and cigars now represent nearly a quarter of national exports—underlining the vital economic role of the cigar industry in the years ahead.