Ukrainian tobacco companies made 120.39 billion cigarettes in 2006, compared to the previous year’s output of 120.26 billion sticks, reports the national association of tobacco and alcohol makers and distributors, SOVAT.

After the previous year’s 10 per cent manufacturing increase, the tobacco industry is showing a clear slowdown, with production cutbacks registered even among multinationals. Gallaher Ukraine, for example, posted a 2.3 per cent decline in output, and BAT Priluki made only 12.22 billion cigarettes in 2006, 18.3 per cent down year-on-year. At the same time, the market leaders, PM, Reemtsma and JTI, increased production by 6.0, 9.4 and 11.1 per cent correspondingly. Last year, PM Ukraine also moved production from its Kharkiv factory to a newly-built facility, and BAT completed its 3-year modernisation programme for the plant in Priluki. (vt)