Iran Cigarette Production Up 18%

Iran produced 27.2 billion cigarettes in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (started March 21), indicating an 18% rise year-on-year, the head of Tobacco Planning and Supervision Center said.
Noting that cigarette imports reduced by 44% to stand at 1.8 billion during the period, Ali Asghar Ramzi added that imports are predicted to be cut by 50% in the current Iranian year (March 2017-18) over last year to reach 2 billion.
Ramzi estimated that 7.8 billion cigarettes were smuggled into Iran during the period, 35% fewer than last year’s corresponding period, Shata News reported.