China’s International Cigar Expo 2021 Postponed

The International Cigar Expo 2021 will be “postponed” due to coronavirus COVID-19.

It was scheduled to take place Nov. 8-10 in Chengdu, China, co-hosted by China Cigarette Sales Corporation and China Tobacco International Group Limited. The event was a follow-up to the first International Cigar Expo, hosted in 2019 in Shenzen. This year’s event was scheduled to take place at Tianfu International Convention Center using 10,000-square-meters of show floor space.

“Although by the end of July, over 95 percent booths have been booked and it can be called a success in some way, exhibitors and professional visitors from overseas are still difficult to attend the Expo personally here in China amid current COVID-19 pandemic,” said the organizing committee in a statement. “We always sincerely hope and welcome exhibitors, visitors, guests from the whole chain of cigar industry across the globe can come and carry out exchanges, negotiate business, and get business opportunities. We always believe the value of face-to-face communication can never be replaced by that of any other form.”

The organizers say they have not determined a new date for the event.

In recent years, China has become a major market for premium cigars. Habanos S.A. said that China became its largest market for Cuban cigars in 2020, the first time the country has achieved that status. Additionally, many non-Cuban companies have gotten increased access to the Chinese market, which is controlled by China National Tobacco, the state-owned tobacco monopoly.