Cigarette sales may see steepest dip in 20 years on lockdown, tax rise

The sector witnessed the last steepest decline in 2015 when sales volume contracted by 8.2 per cent

Cigarette sales may fall by 10 per cent — the steepest decline in the last two decades — in this calendar year owing to a rise in taxes and the nationwide lockdown, according to market research firm Euromonitor International.
 

“The current situation, in conjunction with the rise in the National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) at the beginning of 2020, will have a negative impact of close to 10 per cent on cigarette volumes during 2020 overall,” Euromonitor International said.
 

The last steepest decline witnessed by the sector was in 2015, when sales volume contracted 8.2 per cent to 88.1 billion