South Korea’s cigarette imports surged over the past ten years amid steady demand for foreign brand products, the Korea customs service said. South Korea imported 11,478 tonnes of tobacco products last year, compared with 29 tonnes in 1998.

This marked a 400-fold gain over the past decade. Tobacco imports were worth USD 77.5 million (EUR 54.2 million, compared with USD 220,000 (EUR 155,000) a decade ago. Cigarette imports have been growing fast since 2000 due to an increasing demand for foreign brands. South Korea brought in a total of 1,410 tonnes of foreign tobacco products in 2002, and it surged to 6,857 tonnes the following year. The imports stayed in the range between 6,000 tonnes and 7,000 tonnes until 2007.During the first half of this year, South Korea’s cigarette imports amounted to 5,733 tonnes, up 6.3 per cent from the same period a year earlier. In terms of value, they are worth USD 41 million (EUR 28.7 million), which is also 16.5 per cent higher than a year earlier. By country, cigarettes produced in the Philippines amounted to 4,448 tonnes, making up 77.6 per cent of the total import during the first half of this year. Malaysia ranked second with an 8.1 per cent share, followed by France and Japan with 6.7 per cent and 6.6 per cent, respectively. Most of them carry brands of high-profile multinational tobacco companies based in the United States and Europe. Meanwhile, South Korea’s cigarette exports remained at 157 tonnes in the first half of this year. Of the total, 72.6 per cent went to Iran, followed by China and Singapore with 41 tonnes and one tonne, respectively. (sra)