From: Euromonitor International
Angelica Salado
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Competition in Brazil gets fiercer – and winners are unexpected
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A large part of the illicit cigarettes comes from neighbor country Paraguay. The country has a large number of “tabacaleras”, which produce a great deal of the illicit cigarettes sold in Brazil. More than that, most recently, as the Brazilian government has been attempting to improve surveillance over the country’s frontiers, some local production spots have also been found. These products are not legally allowed by ANVISA, the National Agency for Sanitary Surveillance in the country. However, they are widely available in some regions of the country, especially those which border Paraguay or receive high volume of imports from China. The Federal Police monitors these issues.
These brands’ are spreading so fast that, if public and private initiatives do not slow them down, Brazil might soon have an illegal brand among the top brands in the country. When talking about the impact on legal brands, the “economy” price segment was the most affected, especially because they target lower income consumers, who are highly impacted by the economic situation. In 2011, these brands represented 60% of legal cigarettes sales. In 2016, however, their share dropped to 48%, losing space to illicit cheaper brands.
