Emboldened by Bulgaria's upcoming EU entry, cigarette major Philip Morris has decided to put back on the Bulgaria market its popular Marlboro and Parliament brands.

Initially, the cigarettes will be available only in major cities. Marlboro Red will retail at 4.50 levs while the Parliament brands will have a price of 5 levs a pack. Victory, the best-selling brand of local tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac, sells for 2.60 levs a pack.
Philip Morris will import the cigarettes for the Bulgarian market from Germany and the Netherlands. Kaven Orbico will operate as the authorised Philip Morris distributor for Bulgaria. Philip Morris did business in Bulgaria up until four years ago when rampant counterfeiting prompted the company to pull out.
At this stage, the company is not interested in the upcoming privatisation of Bulgartabac, said Richard Morris, managing director for Bulgaria and Romania.
The major international cigarette companies have been staging a comeback in Bulgaria over the last couple of years after being chased from the market by erratic government regulation and wide-spread counterfeit supply. British American Tobacco recently reopened its local office while Japan Tobacco International is taking stock of the market.
Gallaher is also represented in Bulgaria. Imperial Tobacco was the only one of the heavyweights to stay its ground on the Bulgarian market. (pi)