Fire Destroys Aganorsa Leaf Tobacco Facility in Nicaragua

A devastating fire broke out at one of Aganorsa Leaf’s tobacco processing facilities near Estelí, Nicaragua, on the afternoon of September 4, 2024. The facility, known as a "preindustria," was used for sorting, fermenting, and aging tobacco, and it sustained extensive damage, destroying thousands of pounds of raw tobacco intended for premium cigars.

The fire occurred at Aganorsa’s La Barranca facility, located along the Pan-American Highway. Firefighters and members of the Nicaraguan army were called to the scene to combat the blaze, which continued into the night. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and a small number of tobacco bales were salvaged before the fire spread. However, the smoke and water damage rendered much of the stored tobacco unusable.

Terence Reilly, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Aganorsa Leaf, issued a statement acknowledging the loss but emphasized that the company’s other facilities in Nicaragua had ample reserves of tobacco to minimize disruption to their production lines. "No one was hurt, and while this is a substantial loss, we are fortunate to have other facilities with ample tobacco to reduce the impact on our production," Reilly said.

Aganorsa Leaf is one of Nicaragua's leading tobacco growers, supplying its own cigar production as well as providing premium tobacco to other major brands. The fire comes just weeks ahead of InterTabac 2024, where the company plans to debut new cigars from its Supreme Leaf line​.

This incident follows another recent fire at Universal Leaf’s tobacco facility in the Dominican Republic, marking a challenging week for the premium cigar industry as it navigates these losses​.