Dominican Republic cigar factories slowly reopen. Two of the largest factories have restarted cigar production as of yesterday. Those factories, Casa de Garcia and General Cigar Dominicana are among the largest factories in the world. And they are both part of a large cooperation. Casa de Garcia is part of Altadis where General Cigar Dominicana is owned by Scandinavian Tobacco Group. A few factories for machine-made cigars have also opened the doors again. 

It is expected that other factories will follow the lead of the two big players. With Scandinavian Tobacco Group feels it’s safe to reopen General Cigars Dominicana, Agio Caribbean Tobacco Company and General Cigar Mao will probably follow suit. Last year, Scandinavian Tobacco Group acquired Royal Agio and the factories in the Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, and Belgium. 

The government of the Dominican Republic has rules in place for social distancing. The two premium cigar factories that have opened now are testing social distancing. A smaller group of torcedors is at work than would be the case in a normal situation. Protocols to meet the government rules are being established. 

Costa Rica

Sources in Costa Rica reached out to us. Some factories are expected to reopen on April 13, after the Holy Week. The week before Easter is Holy Week in many religious Latin American countries. The closure we reported about yesterday was partially to prevent the spreading of the coronavirus. Yet the week would be a short week already because of the Easter weekend anyway.

Nicaragua and Cuba

The situation in Nicaragua and Cuba remains unchanged. Some of the factories in Nicaragua are closed. Cuba is still rolling cigars, although sources in Cuba told us that the factories in Pinar del Rio have been closed for a week.