The DPR tobacco company is negotiating the supply of cigarettes to Russia
The owners of the Donetsk tobacco factory "Hamadei," which Ukrainian media accused of counterfeiting Western cigarette brands, have launched production of their own brand of cigarettes in Crimea. They hope that this way, products manufactured on the peninsula and in the DPR will be available on the shelves of Russian retail chains as early as this summer, Izvestia reports.
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Now, according to the publication, the manufacturer is preparing for a wide entry into the Russian market and “soon will introduce brands that are not inferior in quality to Winston and Parliament.” TK Peppel LLC, according to SPARK-Interfax, is registered in the Saki region of Crimea and is 100% owned by the sole owner of the Donetsk tobacco company Hamadey, Valery Khomenko. According to the newspaper’s source, the company’s plant in Kramatorsk is under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but continues to operate and produce cigarettes in small volumes for domestic consumption in the Donetsk and Lugansk republics. How they are delivered from Kramatorsk through Ukrainian checkpoints to Donetsk is not specified.
According to the Federal Tax Service, the new manufacturer has already registered the minimum and maximum retail prices for its goods in Russia: 50-57 rubles.
The head of the analytical portal “Russian Tabak” Maxim Korolev sees two positive aspects in this. “Firstly, the plant is localized in Crimea, which means that Crimean oriental tobacco will be in demand, the production of which is now in decline, although there are conditions for growing tobacco on the peninsula. Secondly, the owner is trying to legalize and move away from the controversial history of the Hamaday factory,” says Korolev.
Ukrainian media have repeatedly reported that Hamaday is engaged in the production of counterfeit cigarettes of Western brands.
A DPR tobacco company is negotiating cigarette supplies to Russia.