Premium Cigar Imports Flat For 2025
The final numbers for 2025 are (finally) in, and the results are unchanged from the year before. Imports of premium, handmade cigars for 2025 were flat, essentially unchanged from 2024, 429.8 million premium cigars imported into the United States, according to data released by the Cigar Association of America.
Despite the lack of growth, that final tally is impressive. Not long ago, 300 million cigars was the benchmark for an standout year, but 2025 marked the fifth consecutive year that premium imports exceeded 400 million cigars. It was only 2019 when imports were at 338 million cigars.
Looking back many years, the cigar market was in decline, with shipments stuck at around 100 million cigars per year. In the early 1990s, shortly after the launch of Cigar Aficionado magazine, cigar imports boomed, soaring from 100 million to more than 400 million cigars in the space of five years. Imports cooled starting around 1998, and rose again during the pandemic in what was considered another cigar boom.
Today, Nicaraguan cigars account for an astounding 60 percent of all premium cigar imports. In 2025, Nicaragua sent 258.4 million premium cigars to the United States, up a modest 2 percent from shipments in 2024.
The Dominican Republic, the second-largest producer of cigars for the U.S. market, shipped 93.7 million cigars, down 12 percent from 2024 shipments.
Honduras, which ranks No. 3, shipped 74.5 million cigars, an increase of 11 percent over what was shipped in 2024.
There are other premium cigar producers (among them Costa Rica, the Philippines and Mexico) but they account for less than one percent of the premium cigar market.
