Price hike due in Iran

The prices of Iranian cigarettes are due to increase by 50 percent following a parliamentary addendum to the government’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year (March 2018-19), according to a story in The Financial Tribune quoting the head of the Tobacco Planning and Supervision Center.
Ali-Asghar Ramzi said also that the price of foreign cigarettes made in Iran would rise by 10 percent.
The duty on locally- and jointly-produced Iranian cigarettes, and on products with international brand names would increase by 350 rials (US$0.76), while 500 rials would be added to the duty on imported cigarettes.
Close to 40 billion cigarettes were produced in Iran during the first 10 months of the current Iranian year, which began on March 21, 2017, up 12 percent on the output of the corresponding period of the previous year.
During the same period, cigarette imports fell by 35 percent to 2.4 billion, while cigarette exports increased by about 12 percent to 330 million.
Close to four billion cigarettes were estimated to have been smuggled into the country during the 10-month period, down 41 percent on the number smuggled in during the corresponding period of the previous year.
Iranians consumer about 55 billion cigarettes a year.
Last year, Iran produced about 45 billion cigarettes and there are plans to increase this figure to 50 billion by the end of the current year, March 20, 2018.