Cigar Weekly

In the first six months of 2008, Latvian   tobacco companies made 1,015.3 million cigarettes, which is 31 percent more than over the same period in 2007, according to the figures of State Revenue Service.

Specialists of the State Revenue Service said that less than 25 percent of cigarettes made in the first half of the year were released on the domestic market, while the rest were exported.

State Revenue Service data show that in the first six months of 2008 Latvia exported 765.4 million cigarettes, which is 36 percent more than last year and made 75 percent of the cigarettes produced in Latvia during the said period.

Of this amount, 78 percent of cigarettes were shipped to EU member states, while the rest was sold in third countries.

The largest amount or 58 percent of the whole cigarette export was sold in Denmark, followed by Israel and Poland with 16 percent and 9 percent respectively. According to Latvian Revenue Service, Los Angeles was the most popular brand of cigarettes exported from Latvia.

In the first half of this year a total of 3,851.5 million cigarettes, 3.041 million   cigars and cigarellas, as well as 10,134 kilos of   smoking tobacco were shipped to Latvia's storage facilities for excise goods.

As many as 2,191.4 million cigarettes were shipped to foreign countries, while 1,603.7 million of imported cigarettes, as well as 3.967 million   cigars and cigarellas were released for free circulation in the Latvian market

According to the Revenue Service, in the first six months of the year, 68.7 million lats (EUR 97.7 mln) were collected in excise tax on   tobacco products, which is 39.1 million lats or 2.3 times more than a year ago.

(EUR 1 = LVL 0.7028)

Riga newsroom, +371 6708 8606, eko_zinas@bns.lv