The black market of cigarettes reached 10.4% of the total of consumption, in May this year, up by 9.8% in March, shows a study made by the research company Novel.According to data released by JTI on Monday, this is the highest level of smuggling since January 2020. The survey reveals that cigarette smuggling in May 2024 saw the highest increase in the Northeast, up 5.2 percentage points to 26.5%, followed by the Southeast (+2.6 percentage points to 7.4%), In terms of the origin of black market products, Duty Free continues to account for the largest share (36.3%), followed by the Republic of Moldova (up 7.4 p.p. to 23.3%) and Bulgaria (22.1%, up 1.6 p.p.). At the same time, the information centralized on the stopcontrabanda.ro platform, from the beginning of the year to date, shows that the authorities have seized some 34 million smuggled cigarettes, 75% of which in the south of the country. Compared to other European countries, there is a clear correlation between accessibility and the black market, with the highest rates in Ireland at 24.4% and France at 32.4%, according to the published statistics. In terms of penalties, in the first five months of the year, the Romanian Border Police seized about 1.3 million packs of cigarettes worth over 30 million lei. "During the period under review, border guards seized 6,300 kg of loose tobacco and 52 kg of hookah tobacco," said the inspector general of the Border Police, Police Superintendent Cornel-Laurian Stoica. Tobacco companies, big taxpayers, pay more than 20 billion lei annually to the state budget in excise duties, VAT and other taxes and contributions.
Low-cost carrier Wizz Air announced a new international route connecting Romania’s Cluj-Napoca to Castellón, Spain. Tickets are available on the airline’s website and mobile app, with fares starting at EUR 19.99 (RON 99). The new route will begin operations on April 11, 2025, with flights scheduled on Mondays and Fridays. Starting June 16, flights will […]
Bucharest's National Arena brought in roughly EUR 1.2 million in revenue in 2024, hosting a total of 43 events, mayor Nicușor Dan announced. The events hosted by the capital city's main arena last year included 28 domestic and international football matches, as well as three major concerts featuring globally renowned artists such as Coldplay and Ed […]
Several tens of thousands of people, according to AUR estimates as many as 100,000, participated on January 12 in a rally in Bucharest organized by the nationalist party Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) against the annulment of the result of the first round of the presidential elections. It was the second rally after […]
Bucharest is one of the best cities for artificial intelligence startups, according to the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2024 report by StartupBlink, quoted by Economedia.ro. However, only one Romanian startup, unicorn UiPath, seems to lead the country's capital city to this top. Romania has entered...
Former Romanian journalist Radu Budeanu, currently owner of the Titluri Quality, which includes the Cancan tabloid, the Gândul, general daily, and the ProSport sports daily, has purchased major local news agency Mediafax and its media products: the website, photo agency, and news feed. The transaction was agreed on January 8, 2025, according to Mediafax. ...
Romania’s imports of goods advanced by 2.8% y/y to EUR 126 billion in 12 months to November, driven by robust domestic demand for consumption and investments, while the exports contracted by 1.5% y/y to EUR 92 billion in the same 12-month period, according to data published by the statistics office INS. The trade deficit in […]
