The Dominican Republic is the leading exporter of cigars in the world, says Fabio Ferm?n Acosta, the director of the Institute of Tobacco, who calculated exports of US$300 million for these goods last year alone. The bulk of cigar production for export is located in free-zone parks. Acosta said tobacco production makes up 6% of the total free-zone production and employs more than 12,000 workers directly. Last year, companies exported 242 million cigars, up from 239.2 million in 2001.