By Jay Amberg Bloomberg Lifestyles.
Bloomberg.com/ Thu, 19 Jul 2001,
11:37am EDT
Pinar del Rio, Cuba, June 20 -- Counterfeit cigar production is on the rise
in western Cuba, according to reports in Cubanet, an independent news source
from Cuba. (Commerce in counterfeit
cigars on the upswing / UPECI)
Cubanet said there's a growing demand for experienced cigar rollers in Pinar
del Rio province on the southwest coast, where most of Cuba's prime cigar
tobacco is grown and harvested.
According to Victor Arroyo, an independent Cuban journalist, since Jan. 12,
secret, non-government cigar factories have been raided by Cuban police and
tobacco and packing materials were seized at all locations.
Arroyo said reasons for the rise in counterfeit cigar production in
southwest Cuba are the availability of tobacco from local farmers and an
increase in demand from tourists for cigars cheaper than the legitimate brands
sold in government stores. Both farmers and cigar rollers can make more money
working on their own rather than for the government.
Cubanet said farmers have been hiding some of their tobacco harvest from
government representatives and selling to middlemen who take the tobacco in
small quantities to so-called "safe- houses'' where the cigars are rolled
and packaged for sale.
Cubanet reported the Cuban government has created a special task force of
police officers called the Response Group to Tobacco Traffic to track down and
arrest anyone found counterfeiting cigars.
As an example of the difference in cost between counterfeit Cuban cigars and
those made in government factories, on a recent trip to Cuba a box of 25 Cohiba
Esplendidos (Cuba's most expensive commercially produced brand) could be
purchased in a government tobacco store in Havana for $384, while a box of
illegally manufactured Esplendidos was going for $75-$100.
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