HAVANA, Feb 26 Reuters Cuba39;s top cigar maker Habanos said on Monday its sales had soared to a record 721 million in 2023, a benchmark the company39;s executives attributed to booming demand for its most luxurious, highend smokes in markets including China.

Habanos copresident Luis SanchezHarguindey said revenues jumped 31 over the previous year as the company pushed promotion of cigars like its Trinidad and Cohiba brands, exclusive smokes once reserved as gifts for foreign diplomats on the communistrun island.

This is a year of records, SanchezHarguindey told reporters on the sidelines of the company39;s annual festival outside the Cuban capital Havana.

Soaring sales came even as Cuban growers struggle to recover from Hurricane Ian in 2022, which flattened infrastructure and ravaged growing areas in a country already suffering its worst economic crisis in decades.

The 20232024 growing season, now entering its homestretch, will fall about onethird short of the prehurricane planting area, according to Cuban staterun media. It is not expected to return to normal levels for the 20242025 season, the local growers39; association said.

We39;ve been able to compensate for that reduction in volume with value, SanchezHarguindey said, adding that Cuban growers had also focused resources on their most efficient, highend farms.

Cuba39;s luxuriously smooth tobacco has long topped the cigar industry, with aficionados touting the Caribbean island39;s unique variety of…