More than 1,600 tons of cigarette paper worth close to $4.9 million were imported into Iran during the first four months of the current Iranian year (started March 21), the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration announced.
Spain, Austria, Germany, China, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and the UAE were the main countries from where the imports were made, Mizan Online reported.
Domestic production of cigarettes hit 45 billion in Iran in the last fiscal year (March 2016-17), close to 15 billion more than the year before. Moreover, 4 billion cigarettes were imported last year, down from 16.4 billion in the previous year, indicating a 76% drop.
Cigarette consumption in Iran stands at 55 billion per year.
Head of Tobacco Planning and Supervision Center Ali Asghar Ramzi said plans are underway to increase local production to 50 billion this year.
According to the official, some 20% of Iran’s demand for tobacco are domestically produced.
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