19.09.2018
For the second quarter of 2018 smuggling in cigarettes has dropped to 4.7%, according to data from the "Anti-Trafficking Initiative" study. According to the organization's data, smuggled cigarettes on the market at the end of 2017 amounted to 6.6% and 7% a year ago. In 2010 smuggled cigarettes constituted 34.5% of the market.
"Fighting smuggling is also a direct assault on corruption," Prime Minister Borissov said in a comment on the data and welcomed the 4.7% result for the second quarter of 2018, the lowest marked by the country so far. "With the seizure of the four factories for illegal cigarettes, we have reduced cigarette smuggling to less than five percent, and we work likewise against the illegal production and trade in alcohol, fuels, sugar, and meat," said Borissov. He pointed out that the good results Bulgaria shows in the fight against smuggling and corruption must be taken into account by our partners in the EU.
