Tag: Turkey

  • JTI Turkey to Invest in Torbali

    JTI Turkey to Invest in Torbali

    Japan Tobacco International will invest $40 million over the next three years in its Torbali factory in Turkey, reports Merhaba.

    “We are constructing a new tobacco processing building, and the installation of two cigarette manufacturing machines has been completed,” said JTI Turkey Engineering Director Barış Tevattepe. “Our solar energy installation plans have also started as part of our sustainability goals.”

    Located on 250 acres with 94,000 square meters of covered space, Torbali is the third-largest factory in the JTI network, according to Tevattepe.

    According to JTI Turkey Regional Operations Leader Wojciech Odzimek, many innovations within JTI originated in Torbali. “We lead the industry in exports,” he said. “This facility is also a talent pool and center of excellence for JTI. Many individuals trained here have the opportunity to work in JTI’s factories in other countries. We have a team of 2,900 people in Turkey, generating great value for the country and region through production, employment, exports and taxes.”

    JTI Turkey Production Director Sarper Ege Ulukaya expects a record production volume at Torbali this year. “We are set to reach 54 billion units, with 28 percent of this being exported,” he said.

    “We are also growing in the domestic market. Our factory has improved efficiency through integrated management systems. We started these efforts in 2020 and achieved a 3 percent performance increase, which significantly contributed to our production records. Other JTI facilities come here to observe best practices. We have a young team, making it easy to adapt to innovations.”

  • Turkish Smokers Fret About Latest Price Hikes

    Turkish Smokers Fret About Latest Price Hikes

    Photo: lial88

    Cigarette prices in Turkiye increased by TRY3 ($0.9) on May 8, sparking lively discussion among smokers on social media, according to Xinhua.

    The cheapest cigarette brands registered with the Monopoly Dealers’ Solidarity Association now cost TRY53 per pack, while the most expensive one is priced at TRY75 liras per pack, according to association president Erol Dundar.

    “Though a three lira increase per pack might appear to be a small amount, it is not so for smokers,” said Yagmur Sivri, a resident of Istanbul, who smokes one and a half packs of cigarettes a day and spends about TRY2,500 on smoking each month.

    “Considering that millions of people in Turkiye live on a minimum wage of 17,002 liras, the latest price hikes put a very large burden on their budgets,” she said.

    The price hike aggravates Turkiye’s already rapidly increasing costs of living. The country’s  inflation hit 69.8 percent in April.

  • Turkiye Tops Smoking League: Report

    Turkiye Tops Smoking League: Report

    Photo: lial88

    Turkiye leads the world in per-capita cigarette consumption, with smokers lighting up an average of 17.1 cigarettes per day, reports the Hurriyet Daily News, citing an EU Statistics Office Report.

    At least one out of every four people in the total population aged 15 years and above smokes, according to the Tobacco Control Plan 2018-2023. This means that about 20 million people in Turkiye are regular smokers.

    Other countries with high levels of per-capita cigarette consumption include Greece, with 15.7 cigarettes; Israel (15.5); Japan (15.5) and Austria (15.4), the report said.

  • KT&G Provides Earthquake Relief

    KT&G Provides Earthquake Relief

    Photo: Adin

    KT&G has donated TRY4.5 million ($238,390) to support earthquake victims and post-earthquake relief efforts in Turkey.

    KT&G delivered its donation through the Korean Red Cross on Feb. 10 to fund aid supplies and recovery activities in Turkey. The donation was collected in the form of a matching grant named KT&G Sangsang Fund, whereby the company matched the donations made by employees.

    KT&G has been reaching out with relief whenever a crisis has occurred in the local community over the past years. During the coronavirus crisis, KT&G secured 4,800 Covid-19 diagnostic kits from South Korea and donated them to hospitals in Istanbul in 2020 when the medical equipment was short in supply due to the pandemic situation. KT&G also provided the relief fund worth TRY700,00 when an earthquake hit Izmir in the same year.

    “We hope that this relief effort will be of some help to the people of Turkey, who have maintained a friendly relationship with Korea for a long time,” said Kim Kwan-joong, president of KT&G Turkey, in a statement. We will continue to carry out our activities of social contribution as a member of the Turkish community.”

    In 2007, KT&G invested approximately TRY700 million building its first overseas manufacturing plant in Izmir. Built on 145,000 square meters of land in Tire District, the facility exports to Europe and the Middle East.

  • Turkiye to Crack Down on Illicit Trade

    Turkiye to Crack Down on Illicit Trade

    Photo: Dzmitry

    Turkiye plans to crack down on illicit tobacco production and consumption, which cost the state an estimated TRY30 billion ($1.61 billion) in lost tax revenue, reports Daily Sabah.

    A draft bill set to be discussed at Parliament will bring prison terms of up to five years for people selling tobacco without licenses from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

    Illicit product is estimated to account for 20 percent of Turkey’s tobacco market. In 2021, some 35 billion cigarettes containing contraband tobacco were sold. This year, consumption is projected to reach about 50 billion.

    The majority of illicit trade comprises illegally produced, unlicensed tobacco sales, such as hand-rolled cigarettes, representing around 27 percent of Turkish cigarette consumption. Counterfeit or smuggled cigarettes, by contrast, constitute about 3 percent of the market.

    Authorities seized 4.7 million packages of smuggled cigarettes, 273 tons of tobacco products and 329,000 cigars during the first nine months of 2022, preventing a loss of TRY625 million in tobacco taxes, according to police data.

  • Turkey Raises Special Consumption Tax on Tobacco

    Turkey Raises Special Consumption Tax on Tobacco

    Photo: Rawf8

    Turkey has increased the special consumption tax on tobacco by 47.4 percent to TRY14.39 ($1.10) per pack, reports Bianet.

    The special consumption tax is based on the domestic producer price index. It is calculated both as a minimum fixed tax and a fixed tax. Each of these has been increased from TRY0.48 to TRY0.7 lira for a pack of cigarettes.

     The minimum price of a pack of cigarettes will be TRY22.85.

  • Star Enters Turkish FVC and Burley Markets

    Star Enters Turkish FVC and Burley Markets

    Photo: MrPreecha

    Following the Turkish government’s decision that all cigarettes produced in Turkey for sale in Turkey must contain 30 percent of Turkish tobacco, Star Agritech International (SAI) has decided to enter the market for locally grown flue-cured Virginia (FCV) and burley tobaccos commencing with the 2022 season.

    Based on current cigarette consumption, local manufacturers will require between 25,000 to 30,000 tons per year of locally produced FCV and burley. SAI has therefore opened its agricultural branch office in Mus, Turkey, as the project center.

    The office is adjacent to the Turkish Tobacco Cooperative Union on which SAI will lean heavily for tobacco production by its farmer members.

    SAI’s project envisages the cultivation 5,000 tons of cured tobacco by 2025, the creation of 110,000-square-meter industrial park encompassing green leaf storage, curing barns, a green leaf threshing line, a hand stripping center, a processed leaf warehouse, a CRES line, a recon line and administration offices.

    The complex is slated for phased completion in 2022 and 2023. The project will be initially managed by Yagiz Turk assisted on the technical front by Furkan Aslan and on the leaf front by Gokhan Akca. Other Istanbul functions will provide support as required.

    The project is SAI’s second direct involvement in tobacco cultivation after its Cameroon cigar leaf plantations. It is projected stimulate the regional economy and create employment.

  • PMI to Acquire Turkish Tobacco Firms

    PMI to Acquire Turkish Tobacco Firms

    Photo: niyazz

    Philip Morris International will pay TRY2.88 billion ($325.9 million) to purchase the shares it did not already own in Philsa and PMSA of Turkey, reports Hurriyet Daily News.

    Philsa manufactures tobacco products and PMSA is a distribution company. Both were created in the 1990s.

    PMI already holds a 75 percent share in the firms. The current owner of the remaining shares, Sabancı Holding, has applied to Turkey’s Competition Authority to sell its stakes in the two companies.

    The sale contract is expected to be signed after necessary approvals by the authorities, and the purchase is scheduled for completion by the end of 2021.

  • Turkey Lowers Tax on Tobacco Products

    Turkey Lowers Tax on Tobacco Products

    Photo: Torpong Tankamhaeng from Pixabay

    Turkey has lowered the special consumption tax on cigarettes and tobacco products to 63 percent, reports Reuters, citing the Official Gazette

    The special consumption tax was previously 67 percent. The fixed tax amount will remain unchanged from levels announced in July for the first six months of 2021.

    The move could help ease upwards pressure on inflation. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco make up 6.06 percent of the inflation basket. Cigarettes make up a large part of that component.

  • Turkey Bans Sale of Hand-Rolled Cigarettes

    Turkey Bans Sale of Hand-Rolled Cigarettes

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Turkey has banned the sale of hand-rolled cigarettes as part of a crackdown on illegal cigarettes. Violators risk prison terms ranging from three to six years, reports Daily Sabah.

    In response to rising cigarette prices, Turkish smokers have been turning to roll-your-own cigarettes, which are considerably less expensive than factory-made smokes.

    Authorities suspect at least some of these products to have avoided tax; it is difficult to trace the contents of hand-rolled cigarettes that are sold in packs without official brands.

    According to media reports, Turkey is now home to more than 25,000 tobacco shops whose earnings mostly depend on the sale of hand-rolled cigarettes and raw tobacco. Illegal online sales of hand-rolled cigarettes also proliferated in recent years, complicating efforts to track down illegal sales.

    Studies show hand-rolled cigarettes illegally sold in tobacco shops contain a high level of cadmium and lead and other materials harmful to the health.

    Yuksel Denli, deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s department of tobacco and alcohol hopes the new regulations will prevent a yearly tax loss of about TRY9.5 billion ($1.4 billion).

    Turkey has taken stricter measures against smoking in recent years. The percentage of smokers in the country is 28 percent, according to official figures.