Tobacco.org

German Cigarette Trade Influenced by Strong Competition 

Competition within the European Union 27 among cigarette exporters intensified in the last several years. Greater exports from France and Poland to customers in other EU contributed to a slowdown for German cigarette exports to Europe. The days of dramatic growth for German cigarette exports to European countries may be over. After scoring spectacular growth of cigarette exports to Eastern Europe from 2003 through 2005, it now appears that German cigarette exports to Europe may decline slightly in 2009. Competition from other EU countries has gained momentum. Exports of cigarettes from Poland and France made astonishing gains in 2008. Poland has already surpassed the UK as a cigarette exporter, and may eventually have exports in the range shown for the United States.

Germany was the leading world exporter of cigarettes in 2007 with shipments of 159.2 bn pieces, valued at $3.478 bn. The average price for German cigarette exports rose from 39 cents per pack of 20 in 2006 to 43.7 cents per pack in 2007. After rising by 46% between 2003 and 2006, the pace of growth for German cigarette exports slowed down to a 3.2% rise for 2007 over 2006. More competition from other exporting countries within the EU has made further expansion of German cigarette exports more difficult. The high value of the euro in comparison to the US dollar and some other currencies tended to make German cigarettes more costly to buyers in some countries, while the change had little impact on shipments to 14 other EU countries using the euro as their official currency.

Jump to full article »