Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 2
By Emin Aliyev - Trend:
Tobacco prices increased in Azerbaijan due to an increase in the cost of raw materials on the world markets, European Tobacco Baku manager Anar Hatamov told Trend today.
Cigarette prices increased by 0.10-0.20 kopecks per pack in some Baku shops.
"The cost of raw materials increased," he said. "This is reflected in the retail cigarette price. The average cost of a pack of cigarettes in Azerbaijan is still less than the world one by 10 per cent."
The influence of world tobacco prices for the retail cigarette price is stipulated by the fact that more than half of the products on the Azerbaijani market are imported from abroad. Up to 50 per cent of domestic demand for tobacco products is met by domestic production. The total demand of the Azerbaijani market in tobacco products is estimated at 10 billion cigarettes per year.
Moreover, an increase in retail cigarette prices will restrict their use by young people and minors.