Azerbaijan reduces costs on tobacco import by 9pct
By Narmina Mammadova
Azerbaijan imported tobacco worth $116.109 million in January-October 2018, $11.375 million or 8.9 percent less than in the previous year.
Tobacco import made up 1.25 percent of total import of Azerbaijan.
Currently, Azerbaijan eyes to minimize the import of tobacco products. To this end, the manufacturer of tobacco products Tabaterra will build a factory of tobacco products in the Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park. Taking into account the market demand, the factory, capable of producing 10 billion cigarettes, is able to fully meet the country’s demand for tobacco products.
In January-May 2018, 1,275 billion cigarettes were produced in the country. In the reporting period, the country produced more cigarettes than during the entire 2017, when 1.241 billion cigarettes were produced.
Azerbaijan exported tobacco and its industrial substitutes worth $5.52 million in January-June 2018, and imported tobacco and its industrial substitutes worth $60.1 million, according to Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee.
The country aims at the rational usage of the potential of the tobacco industry and increase of its competitiveness.
Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree approving the "State Program for the Development of Tobacco Growing in Azerbaijan for 2017-2021" on August 10, 2017.
According to the order, the State Program is aimed at the development of tobacco growing, deepening the sphere of tobacco processing, increasing profitability and export potential as well as increasing employment of the rural population.
The state program takes into account all the necessary factors for the development of this industry - control over the quality of seeds, phytosanitary. This shows that the state aims to create all conditions and provide targeted support for the development of tobacco growing.
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