GRAND TOBACCO DOMINATES IN ARMENIA’S TOBACCO MARKET

/ARKA/
April 21, 2009
YEREVAN

Grand Tobacco LLC joint venture dominated last year in Armenia’s
tobacco market, the RA State Commission for the Protection of Economic
Competition (SCPEC) says in its report for 2008.

According to the commission, the company absorbs over one third
(50.8%) of the filtered cigarettes market and has no serious rivals
in the non-filtered cigarettes market (92.3%).

SCPEC did not make any particular market survey last year, the last
report on the local market participants being that of 2003. According
to the document, two manufacturing companies and eight importers
were doing business in the Armenian tobacco market, with an economic
entity falling out of the market in 2002. Solely local manufacturers
(five enterprises) ensured the entire output of non-filtered cigarettes
in Armenia.

These indicators had obviously changed by 2008, SCPEC says.

The two largest tobacco manufacturers of Armenia – Grand Tobacco
and Masis Tobacco – are members of the Grand Holding group alongside
with Grand Candy confectionary plant, Grand Sun electric lamps plant,
the Hayrenik (Motherland) TV channel and a number of joint ventures
in Iran and Georgia.