Turkey’s tobacco exports surging

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

DHA photo

Turkey’s tobacco exports surged to $90.3 million in July, a 120 percent increase compared to the same period of the previous year, according to Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM) data.

Turkey is expected to export over $1 billion worth of tobacco this year, surpassing $845 million worth of tobacco exports last year.

The tobacco sector was the second-highest exporter in July after the olive and olive oil sector. The sector’s exports increased to $90.3 million in July from $41 million last July.
Most tobacco was exported from the Aegean province of İzmir, Istanbul and the southern province of Mersin. Most of the tobacco, meanwhile, was exported to Belgium.

200 billion liras spent on cigarettes in last 10 years

Around 200 billion Turkish Liras has been spent on cigarettes in Turkey over the last decade, according to Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Authority (TAPDK) data.

While consumers spent $5.5 billion for around 108 million cigarettes in 2003, they spent around $15 billion for 99 million cigarettes in 2012 mainly due to higher taxes. Turkey now obtains more than $10 billion in tax revenues per year from cigarettes, according to Finance Ministry data.