Santo Domingo – The Dominican Republic’s iconic tobacco sector has delivered another year of solid expansion, closing 2025 with total export revenue hitting $1.359 billion. This marks a $19 million year-over-year increase, reaffirming the industry’s standing as one of the nation’s most valuable export-focused sectors.
Industry leader Iván Hernández Guzmán shared new details on the sector’s broad economic footprint, noting that it currently supports more than 122,000 direct jobs across the country and maintains an annual output of roughly 330,000 quintals of raw tobacco. Currently, 130 tobacco and tobacco-derived product companies operate within the nation’s free zone regime, with 93% of these facilities concentrated in the country’s northern agricultural heartland.
Long-term trend data underscores the sector’s consistent momentum: since 2019, total tobacco exports have surged 41%, pulling in a wave of new private investment and driving dramatic job growth. The total direct workforce has expanded from just under 97,500 workers in 2019 to more than 122,000 entering 2026.
Hernández attributed the sector’s sustained growth to targeted government support programs designed to strengthen smallholder producers and boost global market access. These initiatives include hands-on technical assistance for farmers, free distribution of improved tobacco seeds and seedlings, support for land preparation, advanced pest control frameworks, and sustained international marketing campaigns that highlight the quality of Dominican tobacco.
He went on to reaffirm that tobacco remains the Dominican Republic’s third-largest export category, trailing only gold and medical devices in total export value. Meanwhile, premium Dominican cigars continue to hold an unrivaled global reputation for craftsmanship and quality, anchored by world-renowned brands including Arturo Fuente and Davidoff that dominate the global premium cigar market.