Tuscan cigars see brisk sales increase abroad

Exports of popular Tuscan cigars jumped by 20% in the first half of this year, Manifatture Sigaro Toscano S.p.A., said Thursday. The company, which has been producing Tuscan cigars for almost 200 years, adds that if sales trends continue, as many as 12 million cigars will be sold outside Italy this year. Exports of Tuscan cigars have grown from a level of 4.5 million in 2006, to more than 10 million last year. The cigars are highly popular in Spain, where 2.6 million cigars were sold there last year, an increase of 4% over 2010. Only slightly behind was France, where cigar smokers bought 2.3 million Tuscan products, an increase of 6% over 2010. Greece is showing a 13% growth rate, buying more than 940,000 cigars last year.