Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 30
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran exported 330 million cigarettes during the first 10 months of current fiscal year (March 20, 2017- Jan. 20, 2018), Ali Asghar Ramzi, head of Iran’s Center for Tobacco Planning and Supervision, said.
The country's cigarette exports witnessed a rise by 121 percent year-on-year, Ramzi said, the official website of Iran’s Industry Ministry reported.
Iran imported 2.4 billion cigarettes during the 10-month period, 35 percent less year-on-year, Ramzi said.
Iran’s 17 cigarette plants produced over 40 billion cigarettes in the period, 12 percent more compared to the same months of the preceding year, the official added.
Ramzi noted that the country’s cigarette output is planned to reach 50 billion by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2018), adding that over 90 percent of the cigarette smoked in the country will be supplied by domestic producers during the current fiscal year.
About 55 billion cigarettes are smoked in the country annually, he said.
Ramzi further said that over 4 billion cigarettes were smuggled into Iran during the 10-month period, based on estimates, adding that the illegal cigarette import has witnessed a 41-percent fall year-on-year.
The Iranian administration seriously follows a plan to domestically produce foreign cigarette brands in order to cut down the imports.
In recent months, Iranian officials have repeatedly underscored that the administration increased domestic output of cigarettes, decreasing the dependency on imports. Meanwhile, over 80 percent of the tobacco used in Iran’s cigarette factories is supplied through imports.