Bulgaria's cigarette sales fell 23% in January-May

Bulgaria's legal cigarette market shrank 23 per cent in the first five months of 2011, with sales totalling 3.57 billion pieces, data by local tobacco companies show.

According to preliminary estimates, Bulgaria's shadow cigarette market reached about 40 per cent in the period.

May proved to be the single month so far in 2011 to stage a rise in official sales of cigarettes to 733 million pieces from 669 million pieces reported the previous year. The increase, however, was not attributed to higher sales in the period, but came as a result of the considerable decline registered in May 2010, prompted by the spike in prices of cigarettes following the rise in excise duty.

"In the five months through May there has been stabilisation and an upward trend in sales on the legal market of slightly more than seven per cent," major tobacco producer Bulgartabac said.

Bulgaria's official sales of cigarettes plunged to 10.4 billion pieces in 2010 from 19.1 billion pieces in 2009.