Vietnam is due to start auctioning quality smuggled foreign cigarettes on a trial basis starting on June 18, according to a Xinhua News Agency story.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade reportedly said yesterday that, under a prime ministerial decision, the cigarettes would be sold for export, but only to countries that did not border Vietnam.
Revenues earned from the auctions are to be used to help combat cigarette smuggling.
According to the Vietnam Tobacco Association, nearly one billion packs of smuggled cigarettes are smoked in Vietnam each year, causing ‘losses’ of about US$450 million to the state’s budget.
A recent survey by the country’s Health Ministry showed that Vietnam has 15.6 million smokers aged over 15, 85.3 percent of whom smoke daily.
They spend about 31 trillion Vietnamese dong (nearly US$1.4 billion) on their habit annually.
Auctions to boost exports
