Tobacco Production Meets 20% of Domestic Demand

Around 20% of Iran’s demand for tobacco are domestically produced, the head of Tobacco Planning and Supervision Center said.

“Plans have been made to increase land under tobacco cultivation by 500% to achieve self-sufficiency,” Ali Asghar Ramzi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.

The official noted that imported tobacco is 30-40% more expensive than the local product.

According to Hosseinali Qavanlou, the head of Golestan Industries, Mines and Trade Organization, nearly 65% of Iran’s tobacco, amounting over 5,000 tons, are cultivated in the northern Iranian province.

Cigarette consumption in Iran stands at 55 billion per year.

The domestic production of cigarettes hit 45 billion in the last Iranian year (March 2016-17), close to 15 billion more than the year before.

Ramzi said plans are underway to increase the local production of cigarettes to 50 billion this year, which is 5 billion fewer than Iran’s annual consumption.

According to the official, 14.8 billion cigarettes were produced in Iran during the first four months of the current Iranian year that started on March 21, registering a 37% increase compared with the corresponding period of last year.

Some 960,000 cigarettes were imported and 2.6 million were smuggled into the country over the same period, indicating a 66% and 44% fall respectively year-on-year.