Catering for Chinese visitors

The Tobacco Authority of Thailand (TAT) plans to introduce locally-made Chinese-style cigarettes to Thailand’s duty-free outlets from October, targeting an increasing number of Chinese visitors, according to a story in The Bangkok Post.
Daonoi Sutthinipapan, the governor of the TAT, said on Wednesday that the state monopoly had signed a memorandum of understanding with Shaanxi Jinye Science Education Group and Yunnan Reascend Tobacco Technology Co to produce the new cigarettes.
The Chinese companies were said to have researched the raw materials, flavors and packages preferred by Chinese consumers.
Their knowledge, said Daonoi, would be used by the TAT to develop a new product, which would be launched on the Thai market on October 1, China’s National Day.
She said the project would benefit both local tobacco growers and the TAT.
The new cigarettes are due to be made available initially at duty-free outlets around Thailand and later in other Southeast Asian countries.