Grodno tobacco factory

Tobacco factory was established in Grodno in 1861 by merchants Leyba Shereshevsky and Abram Gordon. The factory became one of the largest in the Russian empire; it continued production in Poland and in the Soviet Union. In 2007, it was organized as JSC, but it continues to be state-owned.[3][4]

In 1990s and early 2000s, the factory produced cheap low-end cigarettes. Evolution of consumer preferences and rise of salaries in 2000s forced factory to buy equipment and start production of average-class cigarettes.[5]

In 2016, the factory produced 24.4 billion cigarettes, having 914.3 mln BYN (circa 455 mln USD) of revenue and 100.1 mln BYN (50 mln USD) of net profit.[3]

The factory produces both its own brands (FEST, NZ, Minsk, Portal, VIP, Magnat, and others) and licensed production for British American Tobacco (Kent, Pall Mall, Lucky Strike, Vogue, Capri, Alliance, Viceroy).[3][6]

In 2016, 83.2% of produced cigarettes were sold on domestic market, 16.8% were exported.[3]

Cigarettes made by the factory are often smuggled to Russia, European Union and United Kingdom where they are more expensive than in Belarus. In 2016, BBC claimed that nearly one-third of the factory's production was smuggled to EU.[7] In 2020, The Mirror claimed that the most significant amounts of illicit cigarettes in UK distributed by crime gangs were manufactured by Grodno factory.[8]

On 9 August 2021, the United States have added Grodno tobacco factory to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.[9] In September 2021, British American Tobacco suspended cooperation with the Grodno Tobacco Factory.[10]

• Official site