Iran, Philip Morris ink MoU for Marlboro joint production

Marlboro has a remarkable share among the top 20 smuggled brands of cigarettes in Iran. The staggering figures prompted the Iranian government to voice readiness to give permit to a privately-own company to import and jointly produce Marlboro cigarettes after obtaining license from Philip Morris Inc.

Now an Iranian company, Pishgaman Pakhsh Arman Gostar, has stepped forward as a representative of Philip Morris Inc., and signed a contract with the Iranian Tobacco Company for the import and joint production of this popular brand of cigarettes.

An Iranian MP, Nader Ghazipour, told Mehr News correspondent that the agreement was signed by ITC and Pishgaman last week. The MoU has been given to the minister of Industry to confirm it after he decided that it would benefit the country in terms of production, employment, and combating smuggling.

Speaking to Mehr News, Ali Asqar Ramzi, head of Tobacco Planning and Monitoring Center, also confirmed the signing of the agreement, adding “preliminary works for issuing the permit have begun and we hope that the permit for the cooperation will be obtained soon.”

/SR