Ukraine Cigarettes Remain Among the Cheapest in the World

Source from:  Progressive News Letters 03/30/2011

Ukrainians smoke less, a main reason why cigarette production in Ukraine decreased from 129 billion in 2007 to 102 billion in 2010. The World Customs Organization issued a report on customs and tobacco with data on large (more than 100,000 cigarettes each) seizures. The country of cigarette departure was identified for 2,688 such seizures, and in 1,020 cases it was Ukraine. However, in 2008, there were 573 seizures of Ukrainian cigarettes and only 447 in 2009, while seizures of Russian cigarettes increased from 48 to 84. So while Ukraine keeps the position as a world leader in cigarette smuggling, smuggling became less profitable after the tobacco tax increases and it is on the decline. This is the second reason why cigarette production in Ukraine decreased in recent years. The recent tobacco taxation policy was really a success in Ukraine. Tax rates increased by six times and this caused a five-fold increase in revenues. Cigarette production declined by 21 percent due to the decrease of both tobacco consumption and smuggling out of the country. However, currently the average price of Ukrainian cigarettes is just Hr 8 per pack, while in Poland it is 9 zlotys - three times higher. (www.cigarettesreviews.com) Enditem