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.
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 […]
The retail sales volume increased by 8.6% y/y in November and 7.9% y/y in the 12 months to November 2024, according to data published by the statistics office INS. Although the figures are broadly in line with the overall macro landscape (robust growth of households' income, imports rising faster than exports), there is an unusual […]
Romania was formally designated the 43rd country to join the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP) on Friday, January 10. According to the Romanian ambassador to Washington, Andrei Muraru, Romanian citizens will be able to travel to the US without the need for a visa starting March 31, 2025. "Romania becomes the first country in the […]
Cluj-Napoca, the city in Romania with some of the highest rents and a fast-growing IT industry, is closer to banning smoking in playgrounds and parks after mayor Emil Boc expressed his support for the measure. The mayor cited the prioritization of public health as the reason behind such a ban. He mentioned that he has […]
