what happens when the embargo ends. Are the prices of cuban cigars going to go down? Is it supply v. demand or is the quality of these cigars that make the price so high.
My personal take on this whole issue of if the trade embargo ends is that Cuban cigars will cost substantially more than they do now. Resources as it stand are spread pretty thin in Cuba at the moment. Opening trade to Cuba and creating a new legal market for potentially 32 million people is not going to make Cuba work harder than they currently are seeing that they are pretty much working at max capacity right now. I forget the exact numbers but Cuban cigar production has exploded in the last ten years or so and most attribute the rushing of the production of cigars as faults for inconsistent cubans. If the borders open up chances of keeping up with demand with supply is very slim. Therefore Cuban cigars will have a premium attached and thus setting the price up.
Gotta love economics.
Gotta love economics.
I agree, prices will rise. I also think that quality will be worse. Who knows it could cause cuban cigars to become the same quality as a crap bundle. Obviously that would be an extreme, but you never know what could happen.
i think this was discussed in a much earlier thread
i am of the mind that quality will drop substantially to meet the huge demand
imagine if one day you saw on the news that castro died and we're re-opening trade with cuba
what are you and everyone else in the world gonna do?
its a tough one
but i would say give it ten years after that and they will swing back up to the glory days
as a small footnote, i saw on the news one time that castro had a physical
his doctor's professional opinion was that he is healthy enough to live to be 114
that is not a joke, but its really funny
i am of the mind that quality will drop substantially to meet the huge demand
imagine if one day you saw on the news that castro died and we're re-opening trade with cuba
what are you and everyone else in the world gonna do?
its a tough one
but i would say give it ten years after that and they will swing back up to the glory days
as a small footnote, i saw on the news one time that castro had a physical
his doctor's professional opinion was that he is healthy enough to live to be 114
that is not a joke, but its really funny
There will be another boom in the US like the 90's only bigger. It wont just be for cuban cigars either. Assuming it opens with the fall of comunism hopefully manufacturers like perdomo can go back and claim there own farms.
Something which no one thinks of is what will happen to the cigar community as a whole. I think people will settle more into non cubans. Much like NC's of today that use tobacco from many countries you will see cuban fillers with nicaraguan wrappers, and cuban wrappers with dominican fillers. New blends, brands, and excellent cigars will enter the market.
And of course cuban Puros will go up in price and down in quality. Just my .02
Something which no one thinks of is what will happen to the cigar community as a whole. I think people will settle more into non cubans. Much like NC's of today that use tobacco from many countries you will see cuban fillers with nicaraguan wrappers, and cuban wrappers with dominican fillers. New blends, brands, and excellent cigars will enter the market.
And of course cuban Puros will go up in price and down in quality. Just my .02
I really have no idea. I'm afraid I agree with bildo, the quality would go down saying that the manufacturers wanted to meet the demand. I'm sure that a few would stay true to making some of the best quality in the world.
Macallan brings up a good point too, What would happen to the families who had to leaved? I don't think that their farms would be given back to them, I wonder if they'd even want to go back...
I really don't know what will happen, but it will be interesting to see what goes down
Macallan brings up a good point too, What would happen to the families who had to leaved? I don't think that their farms would be given back to them, I wonder if they'd even want to go back...
I really don't know what will happen, but it will be interesting to see what goes down
i think that some makers have proved that they dont need to be in cuba to prouduce top quality
after being situated for so long where ever, they wont need or want to return (padron for example)
after being situated for so long where ever, they wont need or want to return (padron for example)
I agree, I don't think they will necessarily want to go back. The tobacco characteristic would be 100% different. It would be as if they were making a completely new cigar, because that's whjat it would be. You can't get a padron 3000 M, even if it were grown in cuba, those cigars are nicaraguan all the way. Each region has certain qualities that can't be found in other parts of the world. All these families have spent so many years where they are, I would think that it would be too hard to relocate and start from scratch all over again, unless of course they branched off and kept making the same cigars, so a Nicaraguan Padron, as well have a Cuban Padron.
:wink:
What will be interesting is having a lot more Cuban Hybrids. These families would be able to buy Cuban tobacco and make cigars with that tobacco. There would be a lot of possibilities if this happened.
:wink:
What will be interesting is having a lot more Cuban Hybrids. These families would be able to buy Cuban tobacco and make cigars with that tobacco. There would be a lot of possibilities if this happened.
I agree with all of the above. The productivity in Cuba is insanely inefficient, the workers have terrible attitudes and conditions are appalling. If managed well, production could increase without reducing quality. This is not likely to happen immediately, so I agree with M'shake, things could get worse in the short term but the long term prospects are bright. The soil in Cuba is unique...I believe this is the key to the great cigars of Cuba. Regardless of the troubles that some of the Cuban brands endure, it will be exciting to see Cuban tobaccos traded on the open market like Macallan suggests. I can't believe that the non-Cuban manufacturers wouldn't jump at the chance to get back into the Cuban market. I also think the top blenders have the skill to marry diverse tobaccos from all over the world. They already smuggle Cuban seed with precision regularity. No new Cuban development can be kept from the other growers...the only thing they can't smuggle is the dirt itself!
Gentlemen:
Go back are re-read all of the interviews with the owners of Padron,La Gloria Cubana, Oliva, Perdomo and others. Almost everyone has stated that they would go home to the country of their forefathers. Cuba is their heritage and tobacco is their passion. They will bring the non-Cuban technique to the soils of Cuba. They all dream of the Cuban soils, and will be extremely happy in trying new blends. All cigar smokers will benefit.
In a similar industry, most thought that blending different grapes would fail. It was a huge success, and I think the Cigar experts will follow suit.
malone
Go back are re-read all of the interviews with the owners of Padron,La Gloria Cubana, Oliva, Perdomo and others. Almost everyone has stated that they would go home to the country of their forefathers. Cuba is their heritage and tobacco is their passion. They will bring the non-Cuban technique to the soils of Cuba. They all dream of the Cuban soils, and will be extremely happy in trying new blends. All cigar smokers will benefit.
In a similar industry, most thought that blending different grapes would fail. It was a huge success, and I think the Cigar experts will follow suit.
malone
If you find a cigar you really like...definately stock up. You never know when your favorite will disappear from the market place, I have seen this too many times to remember. I wish I would have stocked up, but half the fun for me is the search for the perfect cigar! My tastes change, cigars change over time in storage and there are so many quality cigars I have yet to try.
