A total of 7.77 billion cigarettes were smuggled into Iran during the eight months to Nov. 20, indicating a 4.8% decrease compared with the corresponding period of last year.
According to an ISNA report, citing the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade’s data, an estimated 43.33 billion cigarettes were smoked in the country during the period.
Cigarette exports stood at 81 million, indicating a 3.8% year-on-year increase.
Production stood at 35.64 billion during the same period, registering a 1.1% growth year-on-year.
Tobacco production decreased by 39.2% to hit 1,011 tons, but the number of factories established for tobacco production quadrupled to 105.
Spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration Rouhollah Latifi said the import of tobacco products reached nearly $1 billion in the last four years, Mehr News Agency reported.
“Cigarette imports stood at $32.03 million in the year ending March 2017; $16.36 million in the year ending March 2018; $23,034 in the year ending March 2019 and $298 in the year ending March 2020,” he said.
“But overall imports of tobacco products stood at $238.79 million in the year ending March 2017; $210.9 million in the year ending March 2018; $214 million in the year ending March 2019 and $218.21 million in the year ending March 2020.”
The spokesman said tobacco products worth $926.92 million were imported over the last four years, of which $48.41 million were cigarette imports.
There are 23 cigarette producing companies and 39 tobacco producing companies in Iran.
The number of cigarette manufacturers in Iran increased from seven companies with an annual output of 29 billion cigarettes in the year ending March 2015 to 12 companies with an annual output of 45 billion cigarettes in the year ending March 2017 to 23 companies with an annual output of 55 billion in the year ending March 2020.
According to a report by the Persian economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad, citing statistics by Industries Ministry, two leading international manufacturers of cigarettes, namely British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International, accounted for more than 60% of total cigarette production in Iran last year (March 2019-20).
The report put the total turnover of tobacco industry in Iran at 300 trillion rials ($1.15 billion) last year.
