The National Free Zone Council (CNZF) forecasts that this year 15 new tobacco processing plants will be installed in the Dominican Republic. To respond to the boom in the demand for cigars in the United States and Europe, in 1997 some 14 companies were established. The cigar sales boom is also spurring the opening of new kinds of industries, such as that of the wooden boxes in which cigars are sold. Alberto Garcia, president of the Federación Nacional de Productores de Tabaco, believes the boom will continue for another 10 years. Gabriel Castro, executive director of the CNZF forecast that exports of cigars will be above US$200 million in 1998. Some 12,286 Dominicans are employed in cigar-related jobs in Dominican free zone industries, according to stats of the CNZF. There are at present 22 cigar industries in free zones. Most of the companies are located in Santiago de los Caballeros, others are in the Moca, La Romana and San Pedro de Macoris free zones. The free zone model has contributed to the overall quality of Dominican cigars. Cigars are manufactured in a country that has a long tradition of tobacco and cigar-making, and thus skilled labor. At the same time, the tax free advantage allows the manufacturers to bring in tobaccos from any part of the world duty free, as long as the completed cigars are thereafter exported. This makes it possible to blend without having to pay duty for the tobacco. The Dominican Republic is the principal exporter of cigars to the United States.
