Russia sold $412 million worth of cigarettes in the first 10 months of this year. This is an increase of 4% over last year's figures for the same period.

The increase in exports, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, is due to lower demand for tobacco products inside the country.

The main importer of cigarettes from Russia in recent years is Kazakhstan. This year the country has accounted for 24% of total shipments worth nearly $140 million.

Also this year, exports of cigarettes to Serbia have increased by 37% to $72 million.

Exports to Turkey have seen even stronger growth - in 2020 the country bought 66% more tobacco products from Russia than it did last year. In total, Turkey imported cigarettes from Russia for 27 million dollars in 10 months.

An increase of 22% to $23 million was recorded in exports to Belarus.

It is worth noting that in the past 4 years, Russia has found buyers of cigarettes in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Afghanistan, Slovenia, as well as in the Philippines and the Seychelles. In total, the importers of Russian tobacco products are 59 countries.