The black market for cigarettes in Romania reached its highest level in three years in July 2014, representing 17% of the whole cigarette market. This is compared to 16.1% in May and 14% at the end of last year, according to research company Novel Research.

The highest level of cigarette smuggling is registered in the North-East region of Romania, which is close to Ukraine and Moldova, and which facilitates smuggling cigarettes from these two countries.

In this region, the black market is 34% of the whole cigarette market, although the percentage declined in recent months. In Bucharest, the black market for cigarettes is 15.8% of the overall market.

editor@romania-insider.com