Azerbaijan, Baku, Jun.19/ Trend R.Zamanov
Iran imported 1355 tons of cigarettes worth some $8.947 million in the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year which started March 21.
Figures show a 47 and 7.63 per cent decrease in terms of value and weight respectively in comparison to the same period of time previous year, the ISNA News Agency reported.
The United Arab Emirates, Turkey and South Korea were the main exporters of cigarettes to Iran. Ankara and Abu Dhabi alone account for 92 per cent of Tehran's total imports.
Iran's cigarette output increased by 66 and 110 per cent respectively in the first two months of the current calendar year.
According to the Managing Director of Iranian Tobacco Company Masoum Najafian 1.243 billion cigarettes were produced in Iran during the first month of current year.
Najafian said in March that by launching the two new cigarette brands of Marlink and Asia, Iran will start exporting cigarettes to its neighbouring countries, the Mehr News Agency reported.
Domestic companies supply only half the country's cigarette consumption, Najafian said, noting that Iranians annually pay 20 trillion rials ($1.63 billion dollars based on the official USD rate USD) for cigarettes.
According to official nearly 63.8 million cigarettes were smoked in Iran last year.