Cuba stages weeklong cigar festival

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- An annual festival brings hundreds of cigar enthusiasts to Cuba. During the weeklong event, cigar lovers are treated to tours of tobacco farms and cigar factories, as well as a formal "cigar dinner" where aficionados dine and sample the newest cigar brands.

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The festival is being held as Cuba's cigar industry pushes to increase its exports. Exports dropped from 148 million cigars in 1999 to 118 million last year in Cuba, primarily because of drought conditions.

Cuban cigar industry officials say they hope to catch up this year, projecting exports of 150 million cigars by the end of 2001.

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