Smuggled cigarettes currently account for about 30 percent of the market, he noted, which has led to a noticeable decline in sales for official companies and the loss of a large part of their market share. This has prompted them to try to compensate for the losses by raising prices. Embaby noted that the state loses billions of pounds annually in taxes and customs duties to unregulated illicit trade. The solution does not lie in pricing decisions, he said, but rather in tightening border controls and intensifying the role of customs and supply investigations to dismantle smuggling networks at their source. Embaby stressed that confronting smuggling is the only way to protect the industry and achieve balance in the tobacco market.

Source: Egypt Independent February 02, 2026 11:42 UTC