From: Talk Vietnam
VietNamNet Bridge – Farmer Nguyen Van Sau in the southern province of Tay Ninh’s Ben Cau District is relieved that it has been a profitable year for tobacco farmers, as the crop has fed his family and hundreds of others for decades. Illegal cigarettes are not controlled by Vietnamese law. — Photo mot.gov.vn Still, Sau and other farmers are increasingly concerned about the rapid increase in cigarette smuggling along Tay Ninh’s long border with Cambodia. “Smuggled cigarettes are bad for our business, and they lower our tobacco prices,” he told Viet Nam News. Pham Kien Nghiep, general secretary of the Viet Nam Tobacco Association (VAT), said the number of smugglers had risen greatly due to the huge profits. In fact, the smuggling of cigarettes in Viet Nam is far worse than most people realise. In a survey conducted in 2012 by the Oxford Economics Department and the US-based International Tax and Investment Centre, the country ranked second in Asia in the number of smuggled cigarettes.
