Eurotopics — european press monitor
Nikolay Marchenko
Sega daily — Bulgaria | 17/08/2009
Trade in smuggled cigarettes is booming in Bulgaria and Romania and causing the countries to lose millions of euros, writes Nikolay Marchenko in Bulgarian daily Sega
«As states on the outskirts of the EU, Romania and Bulgaria are the worst hit by tobacco smuggling. [Tobacco firm] Bulgartabac as well as the country's official import firms are continually reporting cases of illegal imports. Statistics show that 30 percent of the tobacco market is affected.… According to many experts, the alignment of Bulgartabac's prices to those of the EU has created the preconditions for this grey market. There is already a substantial price difference between the individual states, prompting traders… to import illegally to Bulgaria. Things are the same in Romania. When you travel to Romania from Ukraine or Moldova you get the impression that alcohol or Kalashnikovs are much easer to bring in than cigarettes. The discerning customs officers want nothing more than cheap Ukrainian or Moldovan cigarettes.»
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