ROMANIA: Steep growth for cigarettes smuggling | Progresiv

The black market of cigarettes increased in January 2019 to 17.3% of total consumption (1.9 percentage points more than in November 2018). The January rate exceeds the average of 2018, which was 16.3%, according to a study by Novel Research.

"The North-East region continues to be the most affected by the black market in January 2019, remaining at a constant level of 41.1%. The largest increase in illegal trade is recorded in the South-West region, with 12.2 pp. compared to November 2018, to 28.9%. The only region in the country where smuggling fell in January is North-West with 3 pp, to 13.9%. From the point of view of origin, "cheap whites" (no-name cigarettes, legal or illegal products for the black market) continue to be the main source, with almost 60%. The share of illegally produced tobacco products in Moldova is decreasing (by 8.1 pp, to 19.1%) and those in Ukraine increasing (by 4.1 pp, to 12.9%), Serbia continuing to remain relatively constant", said Marian Marcu, Novel Research General Director.

Gilda Lazar, Corporate Affairs&Communications Director of JTI Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria, pointed out that this increase in the level of smuggling translates to a minus of 70 million euros to the state budget.