10月11日，美国雪茄协会发布了最新的进口数据，2024年上半年美国手工雪茄的进口量增长了1.6%，达到了1.917亿支。

对比2023年上半年的1.887亿支进口量，增幅虽然不算很大，但更重要的是实现了正增长。几年来，行业人士认为疫情期间突然膨胀的雪茄消费需求有可能会收缩，但是，数据表明，臆想的消费收缩一直没有出现。过去四年中，雪茄出货量一直强劲，达到了20世纪90年代美国雪茄热以来的最高水平。去年全年，美国一共进口了4.67亿支手工雪茄，实现了连续第四年增长。

美国进口的雪茄中，产地主要是尼加拉瓜、多米尼加、洪都拉斯三个国家。虽然古巴是主要雪茄生产国，但美国至今还保持对古巴商品的贸易禁运，所以古巴雪茄无法在美国市场合法销售。目前进口雪茄中，尼加拉瓜的产量最大，其次是多米尼加，这两个国家的进口量比去年都有所增长，洪都拉斯的进口量相对有所下滑。

Imports of handmade, premium cigars continue to stay strong. According to new government data released today by the Cigar Association of America, imports of handmade cigars rose by 1.6 percent in the first half of the year, to 191.7 million cigars. In the first half of 2023, 188.7 million cigars were shipped.

The amount of gain is modest—it's more important that there was a gain at all. For years, people have been waiting for the contraction of a market that swelled during the pandemic. It just hasn’t come. Cigar sales began to boom during the pandemic, and for the past four years shipments have been robust, reaching levels not seen since the 1990s cigar boom. Last year, 467 million handmade cigars were shipped to the United States, the fourth consecutive year of growth. 

Three countries—Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Honduras—account for most of the production. (Cuba is a major cigarmaker, but the U.S. embargo on Cuban goods keeps any Cuban cigars from being legally sold on the U.S. market.) Market leader Nicaragua and No. 2 producer the Dominican Republic both had a rise in shipments, while No. 3 Honduras showed a decrease compared to the first half of 2023.