Bulgarian tobacco growers warn EU excise plans threaten livelihoods

The National Association of Tobacco Producers – 2010 (NAT-2010) has requested a meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture in December, followed by a session of the national Tobacco Consultative Council in January, BTA reported.

'The EU is once again debating the introduction of excise duties on raw tobacco and the primary processors who purchase it. If adopted, Bulgarian growers would have no buyers for their raw product. This would have significant economic and social consequences, as tobacco is a key source of livelihood in many regions of the country,' NAT-2010 chair Tsvetan Filev told Bulgarian National Radio.

'If primary processors are required to set up excise warehouses, they will withdraw from the Bulgarian market and move their operations outside the EU. The threat is that afterwards we will have no one to sell our raw tobacco to,' Filev said.

There are more than 8,300 registered tobacco growers in 2025.

• Tobacco producers oppose phasing out of EU subsidies in the sector

Editor: Ivo Ivanov
Posted in English by E. Radkova