The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade estimates that 9.07 billion cigarettes were smuggled into Iran during the 10 months to Jan. 20 to register a 45% decline compared with the similar period of the year before.
The ban on imports is still in effect while exports saw a 35% decrease to stand at 98 million during the period under review, Fars News Agency reported.
An estimated 54.1 billion cigarettes were smoked in the country during the 10-month period, indicating no significant change year-on-year.
“The smuggled cigarette market in Iran is valued at $1 billion,” Ataollah Maroufkhani, the head of the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade affiliate, the Iranian Tobacco Planning and Supervision Center said in a ceremony to mark the launch of a cigarette pack tracking system to fight smuggling recently.
