Export made difficult for cigarette manufacturers in Serbia - countries protect local entrepreneurs

Export is made difficult for the manufacturers of cigarettes in Serbia because some of the neighboring countries protect local manufacturers.

Corporate Affairs Manager in "British American Tobacco" (BAT) for southeast Europe, Srđan Lazović, said that the "Tobacco Industry Vranje" (DIV), of which owner was BAT, had production capacity of 6.5 billion cigarettes a year and that it produced 4.5 billion, meaning that the factory in Vranje had significant export potential.

- However, we could think about serious export if the conditions in the surrounding countries were the same as in Serbia - said he.

He mentioned Croatia as an example and explained that it had the tax system that protected local manufacturers and that it had not been possible for years to register foreign brands under the same terms as domestic brands were registered. Therefore, as he pointed out, Croatia exports 10 times more cigarettes into Serbia than it imports from Serbia.

The competition in Serbia where three large foreign and one local manufacturer are present - BAT, "Japan Tobacco International" (JTI), "Philip Morris" and "Monus", has become even stronger when the agreement on free trade CEFTA was put in effect.

Ever since, Serbia provided the same terms for all tobacco companies and Serbian manufacturers did not get such position in all regional countries.