Growth in Cigarette Production, Decline in Smuggling

A total of 58.7 billion cigarettes were produced in Iran in the last Iranian year (March 2020-21), registering a 7.1% growth compared with the year before.
Cigarette exports stood at 357 million during the period, indicating a 131.8% year-on-year increase, ISNA reported, citing the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade’s data.   
Given the estimated consumption of 65 billion cigarettes annually and the ban on imports, an estimated 6.61 billion cigarettes must have been smuggled into the country in the last Iranian year that ended on March 20. The figure indicates a 35.9% decrease compared with the year before.