The value of cigarette exports fell by more than a quarter in the January-March period due to a tax hike in key market the United Arab Emirates (UAE), The Korean Herald reported.

At USD 210.6 million (EUR 170 million), the value of cigarette exports plunged 28.3 per cent in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2017, the newspaper said, citing figures released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
The UAE is the biggest overseas buyer of South Korean cigarettes and the newspaper said sales were “hit hard” by the imposition of a 100 per cent consumption tax on cigarettes in the country last year, and an additional 5 per cent value-added tax imposed in January.
Cigarette exports rank highly on the Ministry’s list of export items and totalled USD 1.13 billion in 2017, or 16.5 per cent of all exported agricultural products for that year, the newspaper said.