Azerbaijan, Baku, Sep.4/ Trend R.Zamanov
The high price of Iranian-made cigarettes in comparison to the price of smuggled foreign brands has become a tough challenge for Iranian Tobacco Company.
Iranian dealers are having a hard time selling domestically-made cigarettes in the market, the Fars News Agency reported.
The average price of a pack of smuggled cigarettes is around 80,000 rials ($2.5 based on the rate of USD at the free market), while Iran Tobacco Company's average price stands at 130,000 rials ($4.1) per pack.
However, Iran still eyes to export cigarettes. The Managing Director of Iranian Tobacco Company Masoum Najafian said in July that Iran will export a consignment of cigarettes for the first time.
"Some 2.012 billion cigarettes were produced in Iran during the Iranian month of Tir (June 22 - July 22)," the Mehr News Agency quoted Najafian as saying.
"The figure show 26 percent increase compared to the same period of time previous year," he added.
According to Najafian, Iran is currently producing cigarettes using nano technology for the first time.
The ISNA News Agency reported in June that Iran imported 1,355 tons of cigarettes in the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year, which started March 21.
The figures show 47 and 7.63 percent decrease in terms of value and weight respectively in comparison to the same period of time previous year.
The United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and South Korea were the main exporters of cigarettes to Iran. Ankara and Abu Dhabi alone account for 92 percent of Tehran's total imports.
Najafian said in March that by launching two new cigarette brands of Marlink and Asia, Iran will start exporting cigarettes to its neighboring countries, Mehr News Agency reported.
Domestic companies supply only half of the country's cigarettes consumption, Najafian said, noting that Iranians annually pay 20 trillion rials ($1.63 billion some dollars based on the official rate of USD) for cigarettes.
According to the official, nearly 63.8 million cigarettes were smoked in Iran last year.
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