Tobacco factories are back to work

Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev sent a letter to regional authorities stating that enterprises that produce tobacco products and raw materials are on the list of organizations that are not covered by the decree on non-working days, Interfax reports .

Last week it became known that Petro tobacco plants (owned by Japan Tobacco International), owned by British American Tobak BAT-SPb and owned by Philip Morris International, Philip Morris Izhora, were suspended in St. Petersburg. Then tobacco production has not yet been included in the list of vital.

Sergey Slipchenko, vice president of corporate affairs for affiliated companies of Philip Morris International, noted that tobacco enterprises can still withstand a weekly suspension of production, but if it stretches for a longer period, this can lead to the termination of product supply contracts and, as a result, even to deficit. After all, tobacco factories in St. Petersburg produce up to half of Russian cigarettes.

Manufacturers also noted that the shutdown of the largest Russian cigarette manufacturers could lead to lost revenues to the budget of 10 billion rubles a week, newsru.com notes .

Today, Sergey Slipchenko said that all Russian production companies have already resumed work, the shortage of cigarettes in Russia is not yet in danger.