Rampant Smuggling Hurts Cigarette Industry
An increase in the amount of cigarettes smuggled into Cambodia has forced the country’s largest cigarette manufacturer to scale down production by nearly half, leaving local tobacco farmers with little choice than to sell their crop at a reduced price to Vietnam. According to Tola Ponlu, head of corporate and regulatory affairs at British American Tobacco (BAT), which produces brands such as ARA and 555, a rise in the number of smuggled cigarettes entering the market is squeezing BAT’s sales and reducing the amount of tobacco the company is buying from local producers of raw tobacco. “Last year, we had about 1,000 contracted farmers. This year, because of ongoing unfair competition, we have had to reduce the number of farmers to 560, about 50 percent,” he said. “We have also been forced to reduce our seasonal workers in Kompong Cham [province] from 1,200 workers down to 650, also 50 percent.”…
