Cuban Cigar Shortage. . . Why?

[Sprintcars11King]

Hello All!

I am wondering WHY there is such a shortage of Cuban Cigars?  Everything is out of stock at the two reputable vendors that I use.  I am curious as to why this is? I was told that there is a major shortage of leaf.  I don't know if this is the gospel but I'd like to discuss further.  I'm sure that there is a multitude of factors.  I want to become more educated about this.

[Johnny-O!]

1. China
2. China
3. China

[Bigkahuna]

It reminds of the Goodfellas scene where paulie becomes a partner in the restaurant then runs up every bit of credit on it and makes crazy profits. Finally, he torches the place for the insurance. I agree with JO, China is skimming from HSA as much as possible and will care little when it collapses.

[D-Rev]

I agree completely. HSA took the money from China, then Cina jacked the prices.
GREED, GREED, GREED on both sides!!!

[canadianbeaver]

It was not greed, brother.

Shortage of cigars around the world has been due to so many reasons, readily available to read in articles all over the www. Many things and Covid-19 cut back employment in Cuba drastically on farms, in cigar factories and for transportation off the island to post production to Europe. This meant empty shelves in stores worldwide.

Start here:

[url=https://www.simplycigars.co.uk/guide/the-global-shortage-of-cuban-cigars-2610/]https://www.simplycigars.co.uk/guide/the-global-shortage-of-cuban-cigars-2610/[/url]

[Bigkahuna]

I’ll disagree CB. China is the worlds consumer of everything. King crab to luxury Hermes bags and everything in between. They focus on material possessions and when in a crowd of a billion people you have to differentiate yourself by showing off the latest Instagram worthy moment. They generally (but not always) have little ethics or morals and exist only to consume. So when that mindset puts a lens on cigars it’s over. How many grey vendors say to limit orders to 5k or less when shipping to China ?

Also let’s not look past the fact that more counterfeit _____ comes from China than anywhere else. Every heard of Lepin ? It’s a billion dollar Lego knockoff.  Those faux hibas are likely banded and boxed in good China. In the end I fear HSA will collapse and the brands we know will be done.

[canadianbeaver]

Legitimate points and truth Bigkahuna :cheers:. Interesting occurrence a couple of days ago and hopefully will continue in this direction. Ladies expand their list with price decrease on world scale. Even with Trini Reyes.

Reminds me of a time back in 2012 or so when I painted a painting mourning the about to crash brands Trinidad, LGC and San Cristobal. Only thing was the next year all three were just fine. I still have the LGC No 2’s. I won’t send them to Bond Roberts like so many others I list. I cherish them too much xoxoxo.

I guess I try to limit my view of all of this even though I mail cigars to China a lot. My cigar groups on FB are here, like you guys.

Cheers!

[JL Miller]

CB,

You send cigars to China alot per your post, it goes to say they are biggest consumers.

$5K is like pennies to us.....

[Bigkahuna]

JL - that’s my point. They are not only the biggest consumers of everything, they are the biggest counterfeiters, the largest polluters, scammers, etc. When a billion people with a culture like that turn towards cigars , forget it. Hell did you know the biggest consumer of critically endangered African wildlife is …. China ! Yep, those rhino horns and alligator testicles that cure cancer are shipped to China. There isn’t any reason for conservation when you don’t believe in anything but today. HSA opened Pandora’s box.

[canadianbeaver]

You guys make it sound like we in North America don’t stink, smoke, kill each other, hunt or have fires. Not to mention buy and sell just about anything fake on TV.

Of course you are right about cigars to China, just like Scotch went there, then seeing the words change on bottles so they did not have to tell how many years old it is. I send them to the US, France, Canada too. Not a big player on BR but perhaps one that at least tells what happens there.

As usual, like these discussions and your info is terrific!

CB