Prices of tobacco have increased by 40-60%. Sweat, as usual, buyers

From 1 November there was an increase in retail prices for cigarettes. The announcement of this came from the State Tax Inspectorate. Many tobacco brands became more expensive by 40-60%. Since the cost of cheap cigarettes LD (Red, Blue) was higher by 65% and up to 7.75 hryvnia, cheap "Vatra" became more expensive by 43% - up to 5 hryvnia per pack, and Vogue Ladies' went up by 50% and are now up 10 hryvnia per pack.

The rise in price was the result of efforts of tobacco companies to compensate their profits by raising prices. However, it should be noted that legislation to raise the excise tax rates have not yet entered into force.

October 22 Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed a bill that includes raising two rates of excise duty on tobacco products. The specialists of the tobacco control department of the Ukrainian Institute for Strategic Studies Health Ministry claimed that the indexation of prices, based on an increase in excise, was to raise prices only by 30-40%, but not higher. Representatives of the tobacco industry also previously talked about the price increase of 40%. Not all brands have risen in price by more than 40%, but such is.

Tobacco companies especially do not hide the fact that in addition to indexing in the price lay still and earnings. However, the size of this extra profit by anyone of them is called, because, according to the company's employees, is a commercial secret.

A coalition of civic organizations and initiatives, "For a smoke-free Ukraine" claims that tobacco companies are hypocrites, speaking about the need to raise prices. For legislation to raise the excise tax has not yet entered into force, since awaiting signature by the President. If the "tobacco companies" have raised the prices after entering into force the law, this increase would have occurred only in December. But so would be lost substantial profits November. However, hopes that the law would not be signed by the president, practically no. After previous bill to raise the excise tax on tobacco products they had not been vetoed.

Representatives of tobacco companies as a counterargument against the new law lead to the same fact: as soon as the bill passes, the market will increase the volume of contraband goods. It is possible that a similar situation in 2000 when the share of smuggled cigarettes accounted for about 50% of the market. Today's prices of cigarettes are such that they become very attractive to buyers. According to employees of tobacco companies, along with contraband cigarettes and counterfeit widely distributed, ie fake.

Tobacco companies do not provide forecasts of its revenues and production volumes in the latter half of 2009. Information which publishes the Ukrainian press, said about the increase in income of tobacco companies in comparison with the same period last year. If the first 3 quarters of 2009 legal cigarette market is estimated at 18 billion hryvnia, then have 6 billion went to pay the excise tax, and $ 3 billion went to pay VAT. Thus, the production, distribution and actually profit from "tobacco workers" to nearly 9 billion hryvnia. In 2008 it amounted to only 8 billion.