Rigoberto DIAZ AFP – May 15, 2025 — Indiana Gazette
Cuba’s sole producer of cigarillos cannot keep up with exploding demand abroad for the smaller, cheaper, machine-rolled version of the island nation’s much more famous hand-crafted cigars.
Working at full capacity, the Internacional Cubana de Tabacos S.A. (ICT) factory produces 800,000 cigarillos a day. It is not enough.
Exports have increased tenfold in two decades — and that’s despite stricter smoking laws worldwide, and not being able to sell into the US market due to its decades-long embargo.
