TEHRAN- Production of cigarette in Iran rose 14 percent during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-December 21), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, the board chairman of Iran’s Tobacco Products Manufacturer Exports and Imports Association announced.

Mohammad-Reza Tajdar said that 47.1 billion cigarettes were produced in the nine-month period of this year, while the figure was 41.444 billion in the same time span of the past year.

He also said that 3,700 tons of tobacco was produced in the country in the first nine months of this year, while the figure was 1,872 tons in the same period of time in the past year, showing 98 percent rise year on year.

In early July, the head of Iran Headquarters for Combating the Smuggling of Commodities and Foreign Currency said 90 percent of the cigarettes consumed in the country are produced domestically.

“Smuggled cigarettes account for only about 10 percent of the market, and with the activities of the headquarters in recent years, according to last year's statistics, 90 percent of the country's cigarettes are now produced domestically,” Ali Moayedi Khorramabadi stated.

According to the official data, Iran has 39 tobacco and 23 cigarette production companies.

The number of cigarette manufacturers in Iran increased from seven companies with an annual output of 29 billion cigarettes in the year ending March 2015 to 23 companies with an annual output of 55 billion in the year ending March 2020.

Iran has currently banned the imports of cigarettes into the country, while the decision to halt imports doesn't mean that no foreign cigarettes entered Iran.

MA/MA