Poland uncovers Ukraine’s illicit cigarette trade
In April 2025, 16.25% of cigarettes smoked in Ukraine came from illicit sources, according to Kantar, which has monitored the country’s gray tobacco market for over a decade, Angora24.pl reported on Aug. 25.
The Polish outlet noted that this is not just a statistic but represents hundreds of millions of cigarettes intended for export to the Middle East or duty-free zones that instead remained in Ukraine.
“Key centers for illicit cigarette production are located in Lviv and Ternopil oblasts,” the report reads.
“The method is known: cigarettes are packed into containers labeled for ‘Syria,’ ‘Northern Cyprus,’ or duty-free markets in Arab countries. The documents are legal, but the goods stay in Odesa, Chornomorsk, or warehouses near Ternopil. For example, in December 2024: Odesa port, three containers, two million cigarettes, declared value—165 million hryvnias ($4 millon). On paper, these were duty-free products from Egypt, Portugal, and Switzerland. In reality, they were produced near Ternopil.”
Previously, the “Monitoring of Illicit Tobacco Trade in Ukraine” project by Kantar Ukraine reported a decline in the share of illicit tobacco trade to 12.6% in October 2024, down from 19.1% at the start of the year and 14.6% in July 2024.
According to Philip Morris, as of July 2025, the legal tobacco market in Ukraine was shrinking.
In August 2025, businesses urged the G7 to take action against the illicit cigarette market.
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