Russian cigarette market predicted to fall sharply

The Russian cigarette market could decline by 8-12 percent to 289-277 billion this year, primarily driven by an increase in taxes and the weakening of the domestic economy, according to an ITAR-TASS story relayed by the TMA.

Sergey Kiselev, vice-president of corporate affairs and communications at JTI Russia, said that the decline in the domestic cigarette market, which began in 2013 when the overall market shrank by 5.4 percent, had accelerated sharply in recent years.

JTI expects legal cigarette sales to decline by 9-12 percent, while Philip Morris Sales and Marketing estimates that the market could fall by 8-10 percent.