We are against contraband: PCC

PACIFIC Cigarette Company (PCC) chief executive Yves Le Boulengé says they support British American Tobacco (BAT)’s push for a probe into the regional cigarette contraband market with a view of cleaning up the industry.
This comes as an Ipsos report revealed that the sector had been invaded by cartels selling billions worth of under-tax cigarettes and the Zimbabwean firm had been accused of being part of these troublemakers by a regional publication.

“It is often stated that… conjecture has short legs and we feel exonerated by this report. Pacific cigarettes, despite their popularity, have not been… to be a source of the concern highlighted (as) they continue to be legally available in all the markets (we operate in),” Le Boulengé said.

“We always welcome constructive criticism as a way of strengthening our processes and procedures against the scourge of illicit cigarette trade highlighted… by BAT. What is most satisfying is that the Ipsos report identifies our Pacific brand as one of the most upstanding..,” he said.

During the February 11 to 16 research, mystery shoppers bought 20 packs of cigarettes below the R20 minimum collectable tax (MCT) rate from nearly 4 600 small shops to large retailers.
As cartels continue to undercut established companies, BATSA commissioned the independent report to see how the contraband trade was prejudicing companies like itself and competitors like

Pacific, which continue to operate within the law, customs duty, American dollar revenues and other established tariffs for economies like Zimbabwe.
On the other hand, a recent Atlantic Council report said illegal trade between the two countries was rampant.

“The illicit tobacco market in southern Africa is distinguished by two key facts: first, SA provides the largest, most profitable, and therefore most important consumer market… Zimbabwe is the biggest tobacco producer in the region and indeed the continent,” it said. Zimbabwe-produced cigarettes are smuggled into all its neighbouring countries, with the clear majority being smuggled into SA.”

However, the SA Tobacco Organisation says it was skeptical about the BATSA report, as it followed an Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting inquiry showing that the company was benefitting from the illegal trade in west Africa.

With some of its brands being Storm, Breeze, Accacia, Mist, Blue, Branson and Pegasus, PCC is a Mauritian-domiciled entity with its headquarters in Zimbabwe. It is also in Lesotho, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia.

“We comply with… rules and regulations, and market requirements wherever we operate. That is why we welcome BATSA’s report (on) industry’s current developments and dynamics,” he said. — CAJ