Cuban cigar exports soar amid demand for luxury goods

International sales of Cuban cigars, the island nation’s most emblematic export, soared 31 percent last year as global demand rises for luxury products, the country’s main tobacco exporter said Monday.

Jorge Perez Martell, commercial vice president of Habanos S.A., said the company had seen a 31 percent increase in turnover in 2023, at the start of the capital’s annual cigar festival.