Smuggled Cigarette Market Turnover at $1b

The smuggled cigarette market in Iran has a turnover of over $1 billion.
Ataollah Maroufkhani, the head of Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade affiliate, the Iranian Tobacco Planning and Supervision Center, made the announcement in a ceremony to mark the launch of a tracking system for cigarette packs to fight smuggling, Mehr News Agency reported on Monday. 
“About 48 billion cigarettes were produced in Iran last year (March 2018-19) compared with 49 billion in the year before,” he was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency. 
The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade estimates that 8.67 billion cigarettes were smuggled into Iran during the nine months to Dec. 21, 2019, indicating a 43.5% decline compared with the estimated figure of the similar period in the year before.
No official import was registered during the period, as cigarette imports are banned. 
Exports saw a 40% decrease to stand at 90 million. 
An estimated 48.75 billion cigarettes were smoked in Iran during the nine-month period, indicating no change year-on-year.