Tobacco.org

Cigarette Plant in Bulgaria's Plovdiv Closes Down 

Some 300 workers from the Plovdiv cigarette factory will be sacked as the plant was closed down on Monday as a result of the decision of the Bulgartabac board to restructure the company.

The cigarette factory in Bulgaria's second largest city of Plovdiv was closed down on Monday. The measure is part of the program of the Governing Board of the state-owned tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac to restructure the company.

The cigarette factory in the city of Stara Zagora is also going to be closed down, and all manufacturing operations will be concentrated in the cities of Sofia and Blagoevgrad.

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Pazardjik BT vies for stake in Mostar cigarette factory  

Pazardjik BT, formerly a part of state-owned Bulgartabac Holding and now owned by Bulgarian firm Chesteam, is the sole eligible bidder for 67 per cent of Bosnian cigarette factory Fabrika Duhana Mostar, SeeNews agency reported, quoting a statement of the Bosnia and Herzegovina privatisation agency.

The procedure attracted two offers, the other from an unnamed Canadian company.

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Planting tobacco in South East Bulgaria 

Straldzha. Areas for growing tobacco by one of the major producers in the region of Straldzha, South East Bulgaria, was increased by 30% thus reaching 2000 decares, expert in the municipality Nadya Zhecheva said, Radio FOCUS – Sliven informs. Planting has already started

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Bulgarian Track in the Biggest Cigarettes Smuggling in Europe 

The biggest amount of smuggled cigarettes in Europe has been caught near the Belgian town of Liege. 12 people have been arrested. There are Bulgarians among them.

The Belgian RTL television reports of 2 Bulgarians, while the “Soir” newspaper informs of 1 Bulgairan involved. Among the other arrested are three Greeks, two Cypriots and Belgians.

The smuggled cigarettes are “Karelia”, “Marlboro”, “L&M”, “Superking Gold”, “Raquel” were discovered in three different storehouses around Liege.

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SMOKING HAUL 

Two Bulgarians have been arrested after Belgian police busted a cigarette smuggling ring, believed to be the largest one ever discovered in Europe.

Among the other smugglers who were arrested there were three Greeks, one Cypriot and one Belgian national. The arrests came after police officers found more than 230 tons of contraband cigarette packages in three warehouses near the Belgian city of Liege.

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Bulgarians Involved in Europe's Biggest Cigarette Smuggling Ring 

A total of two Bulgarians have been arrested after Belgian police busted a cigarette smuggling net believed to be the biggest one in Europe, Darik News reported Friday.

Some Belgium's media claim the Bulgarian citizen detained is only one.

Among the other arrestees are three Greeks, two Cypriotes and Belgian nationals.

The arrests came after police officers found more than 230 tons of contraband cigarette packages in three warehouses near Belgium's city of Liege.

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Cigarette business for sale 

Bulgaria has decided to sell two factories owned by Bulgaria's former tobacco monopolist Bulgartabac, located in Plovdiv and Stara Zagora, on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, Economy and Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov said on March 18. "We want the privatisation to be done through the stock market, because that would be the most transparent way," Dimitrov said.

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Bulgartabac chief alleged of tax fraud 

Bulgarian tobacco state-owned monopoly Bulgartabac's chief executive Hristo Lachev has been alleged in tax fraud, Regional Prosecutor for Sofia Nikolay Kokinov revealed Thursday.

Lachev is accused of hiding a total of EUR69,000 in the last three years. Prosecutor Angel Iliev didn't reveal if the money in question is the same as the advertisement profits from Lachev's other case.

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Four Tobacco Companies Eye Bulgarian Factories, Minister Says 

Four international tobacco companies are interested in acquiring two Bulgarian cigarette factories controlled by state-run Bulgartabak Holding, the country's Economy and Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov said.

The government, which controls 80 percent of Bulgartabak, decided to sell its two most profitable factories, Sofia-BT AD and Blagoevgrad-BT AD, to a buyer that would guarantee to keep them operational and retain their workforce, Dimitrov said in interview with private Bulgarian television station bTV today.

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保加利亚火车全面禁烟 

保加利亚交通部长彼得·穆塔夫奇耶夫６日下令加强火车安全措施，严禁在火车上吸烟。穆塔夫奇耶夫是在上月底保发生列车火灾事故后作出这一决定的。据当地媒体报道，安全措施还包括改善列车乘务员的通信手段，对旅客行李的尺寸和重量加强管理，以及工作人员要充分告知旅客一旦发生火灾或其他事故时如何进行自我保护等。

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Bulgaria's state railways to ban smoking  

Transport Minister Petar Moutafchiev ordered the Bulgarian state railways BDZ to ban smoking in all trains and to strengthen the control over the passengers' luggage, two measures that he said would prevent the repeat of the deadly train fire that left nine people dead last week.

Although there is a standing ban on easily flammable substances in trains, no one is enforcing it, while luggage is rarely being searched, Moutafchiev said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.

The devastating fire on the Sofia-Kardam train on February 28 was likely caused by some substance catching fire, according to witness accounts, he added.

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• Bulgaria tightens railway safety after train fire 

Bulgaria will ban smoking and flammable items on trains and upgrade emergency procedures after a fire swept through two sleeper carriages last week, killing nine people, the Transport minister said on Thursday.

The fire which began on Feb. 28 was the worst railway incident in Bulgaria since 1992. It has provoked debate about safety standards at state railway company BDZ and prompted calls for Transport Minister Petar Mutafchiev to resign.

Police are investigating the cause of the fire and prosecutors said they did not rule out anything.

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Bulgaria seeks sale of cigarette mills by year-end  

Bulgaria hopes to wrap up the long-delayed disposal of cigarette maker Bulgartabak Holding BTHG.BB by the end of the year, Economy Minister Petar Dimitrov said on Friday.

Bulgartabak has offered to close two of its four cigarette mills to boost its competitiveness and so the state can generate a better price when it sells its stake of around 80 percent, preferably on the stock market, Dimitrov told the parliament.

"The companies should be traded on the bourse as quickly as possible," Dimitrov said, "but I want the consent of workers in those factories."

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Bulgaria Among Leading Countries in Tobacco Smoking for 2006 

Bulgaria ranks 3rd in tobacco smoking for 2006 year in worldwide scale, according to ‘Euromonitor' research data and investigation company ‘Golbalist'.

Almost 5, 8 trillion cigarettes have been sold in the world in 2006, which makes 869 cigarettes per human.

Greece is second and the world leader for 2006 is Serbia and Montenegro with 3610 cigarettes per human.

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Bulgaria's Plovdiv Demands Ownership of Local Tobacco Factory 

The Plovdiv Mayor Slavcho Atanasov demanded that the government transfer its 78% of the local tobacco factory to the municipal authority in the wake of a decision to restructure Bulgaria's cigarette-maker.

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