EGP88.6 billion.. cigarettes and smoke in the 2023/2024 budget

The Ministry of Finance announced targeting the collection of 88.6 billion pounds of cigarettes and smoke in the 2023/2024 budget, compared to 84 billion pounds in last year’s budget.

The market witnessed a significant and unjustified rise in the prices of cigarettes during the past days, as citizens wondered about the reasons for this insane rise, despite the fact that no official decision was issued by the producing company stating any increase in prices.

Significant increase by merchants

At a time when Philip Morris announced the official prices of cigarettes in the Egyptian market, as the prices of some products such as Merritt, Marlboro, LM cigarettes and others increased, the prices in the market witnessed a significant increase by merchants.

This increase reached 6 pounds over the real price of the can in some cases, which indicates the existence of an artificial crisis by merchants for the sake of monopoly.

This price hike has not been officially announced by the cigarette companies, which makes it look like a monopoly crisis, The price of cigarettes and their date of production can be known through a barcode on the cigarette packet, according to Ibrahim Imbaby, head of the Cigarette Division of the Confederation of Industries.

Black market

Ibrahim Imbaby, head of the General Division of Tobacco and Cigarettes at the Federation of Industries, revealed the reasons for the significant rise in cigarette prices during the last period. Imbaby said it was the slow decision-making that drove up the price of cigarettes on the black market.

88.6 billion pounds

He explained that the Ministry of Finance announced targeting the collection of 88.6 billion pounds of cigarettes and smoke in the budget for the year 2023/2024, compared to 84 billion pounds in the budget of last year, indicating that this of course means an increase in the tax to collect about 4 billion new.

Final prices 

According to the old prices, the latest price revealed by Philip Morris was Thursday, April 6, 2023 in the Egyptian market, Merritt of all kinds rose to 59 pounds, Marlboro of all kinds to 54 pounds, Marlboro of all kinds of Crafted to 44 pounds, and LM cigarettes of all kinds to 39 pounds.

At the same time, the Eastern Tobacco Company “Eastern Company” raised the prices of all the company’s products of cigarettes to the consumer, so that the prices of cigarettes, in the new increase that entered into force in the local markets, ranged between two and three pounds In the price of one pack of cigarettes, according to the brand.

The final prices for Cleopatra King size cigarettes are EGP 23, Soft Queen is EGP 24, Boston is $24, Box is $24 and Super is $24.