A total of 7.39 billion cigarettes were smuggled into Iran during the nine months ended Dec. 20, 2020, indicating a 15% decrease compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Citing data released by the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade, , ISNA reported that an estimated 48.75 billion cigarettes were smoked in the country during the period.
Cigarette exports stood at 81.3 million, indicating a 7.7% year-on-year decrease.
Production stood at 41.4 billion, registering a 3.2% growth year-on-year.
Exports of unprocessed tobacco increased by 15% to reach 2,033 tons during the period under review.
A total of 54.8 billion cigarettes were produced in the last fiscal year (March 2019-20), indicating a 13.7% growth compared with the year before.
Cigarette exports saw a 2.7% increase to stand at 154 million while the ban on imports remained in effect.
Notably, Jordan and Austria joined the list of Iran’s cigarette export destinations for the first time in the year ending March 2020, according to Ataollah Maroufkhani, the head of Industries, Mining and Trade Ministry’s affiliate, Iranian Tobacco Planning and Supervision Center.
The ministry estimates that 10.03 billion cigarettes were smuggled into the country in the last fiscal year, as 65 billion cigarettes were smoked in the country during the period, which registered a year-on-year decline of 39.2%.
Tobacco exports stood at 2,374 tons, posting a surge of 161.3% while 21 cigarette and 39 tobacco factories were active last year compared with 20 cigarette and 33 tobacco factories in the year before.
Members of the parliament have recently determined next year’s tax on the retail sale of cigarettes.
As of March 21, marking the start of the next Iranian year, retail prices of domestically-produced cigarettes with Iranian brand names will increase by 250 rials (per cigarette), retail prices of domestically- produced cigarettes with global brand names will rise by 500 rials and the retail prices of imported cigarettes will increase by 1,500 rials per cigarette.
The rial’s exchange rate against dollar is around 250,000.
Tax on each 50-gram pack of local tobacco will rise by 33,000 rials and that of imported tobacco will increase by 100,000 rials, IRNA reported.
According to Ali Asghar Baqerzadeh, a lawmaker, cigarette consumption inflicts more than 1,300 trillion rials in losses on the country annually.
“With the slight increase in cigarette tax, the country will earn 40 trillion rials ($160 million),” he added.
Spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration Rouhollah Latifi said tobacco imports hit nearly $1 billion in the last four years.
“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 was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
“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.”
This is while 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 manufacturing companies and 39 tobacco manufacturing 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 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 the statistics of 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 puts the total turnover of tobacco industry in Iran at 300 trillion rials ($1.2 billion) last year.
Latest data released by the Statistical Center of Iran on inflation show the average goods and services Consumer Price Index of “tobacco” in the 12-month period ending Feb. 18, which marks the end of the 11th month of the current Iranian year, increased by 33% compared with the corresponding period of the year before.
The CPI of “tobacco” among 12 groups of the basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households stood at 441.7, indicating a 0.3% rise compared with the month before.
The tobacco index, which has minimum impact on total inflation rate with a coefficient of 0.59%, registered a year-on-year increase of 54.3%.
