02 juillet 2009
Cigarette exports and imports
Turkey neither exported nor imported cigarettes until 1981 when the first cigarettes were exported,
with the first imports following in 1984. It became a net importer of cigarettes, with a trade deficit of
US$56 million in 1985, reaching a peak of US$289 million in 1990. Imports fell from 1991, reaching
a negligible level in 1999.
Cigarette exports, in contrast, started increasing after 1990, peaking at
84 Tobacco in Turkey
US$100 million in 1997. Consequently, in 1995, the trade deficit in cigarettes was reversed to a trade
surplus, with the country becoming a net cigarette exporter in 1999. The foreign exchange earning
from cigarette trade amounted to US$68 million in 1999