India: Production Stoppages Drive Up Cigarette Prices

Since the lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak, the black market price of cigarettes has risen by 50 percent to 100 percent as production has ceased in many places.

A 10-pack of Gold Flake Kings costs between INR250 and INR300 ($3.28 and $3.93), whereas it would normally cost INR165, according to local reports.

“The situation is bad. All paanwallas have shut shop in the city. A few grocery stores are keeping stock, but they sell it only to those they know and that too at a premium,” Piyush Gupta of Delhi was quoted as saying.

The price of cigarettes rose in phases, according to Chirag Gudipaty of Bengaluru. “In the first week of the lockdown, cigarette packs used to be sold for MRP. By the second week, they were attracting a 20 percent premium. Now, the premium is anywhere between 30 [percent] to 100 percent depending on how well you knew your retailer before,” he said.

Experts recommend that those who have been abstaining from smoking during the lockdown use the opportunity quit for good.