The production of cigarettes and cigarettes in Russia in the first half of 2023 increased by 10.3% compared to the same period last year and reached slightly less than 4.69 billion conventional packages, analysts of the state labeling system "Honest Sign" told Izvestia.
In the first half of 2022, this figure was 4.25 billion packages. Thus, domestic production returned to the level of 2021, when slightly less than 4.7 billion packs were produced in the first two quarters.
Separately, 2.4 billion packages of cigarettes and cigarettes were produced in the second quarter of 2023, which is almost 6% higher than in the first quarter of this year, and almost 19.7% higher than in the second quarter of 2022.
"Last year was characterized by the need for the industry to change supply chains, which led, among other things, to a slowdown in production rates in the second quarter. According to the results of the second quarter of this year and the half—year as a whole, we see that tobacco companies have completely overcome all difficulties and increased production volumes to a high level in 2021," said the deputy director of the CRPT (operator of the Honest Sign labeling system) Revaz Yusupov.
According to analysts, the continued increase in excise taxes on cigarettes and cigarettes led to an increase in prices by more than 12% in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year. The weighted average price of one pack of cigarettes was 164 rubles per pack, cigarettes — 207 rubles per pack.
At the end of July, the Public Consumer Initiative sent an appeal to the Prosecutor General's Office and the government with a request to withdraw counterfeit tobacco from sale. The organization conducted a study of compliance with the rules of labeling goods in the regions, found out that most illegal products are observed in the Kostroma region.
On April 13, the State Duma adopted a law on increasing fines for the sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products and vapes to minors. So, for individuals, the fine will be from 40 thousand to 60 thousand rubles, for officials — from 150 thousand to 300 thousand rubles, for legal entities — from 400 thousand to 600 thousand rubles.
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