Hendrick Kelner Casals, president of ProCigar, the organization representing the leading cigar firms in the Dominican Republic, says that the industry exports have stagnated over the past two years. He says there could be new markets in China or South Africa. In an interview in Diario Libre he admitted that global growth itself has stagnated, with consumption in some countries declining. “The Dominican Republic has maintained its positioning and level of exports, around 42% of hand-rolled cigars,” he said.
But the future is not bright with the present situation. He advocated for establishing trade relations with China, which would help with placing exports. He pointed out that the Chinese government is very restrictive in accepting new brands, but that the Dominican representation in China, under Rosa Ng, who is from Santiago, the country’s main cigar-producing region, is helping. “Steps have been taken with Chinese missions that have come and we notice an opening that could be very important,” he said. He also mentioned that Russia is another country that is currently experiencing problems, but with economic growth. Others are South Africa that has a very much European culture and a sufficiently high economic level. He also advocated for more competitiveness of local production.
http://www.diariolibre.com/destacada/2015/04/18/i1105371_los-cigarros-una-industria-estancada-que-enva-seales-humo-mercados-emergentes.html