Egypt Delays License Tender for Cigarette and E-Cigarette Production
Reuters, citing industry sources, reported that Egypt has delayed the tender for a license to produce cigarettes and vaping products. The license auction had been scheduled for April 6 and would have ended the decades-long monopoly of state-controlled Eas
Reuters reports, citing industry sources, that Egypt has delayed the tender for licenses to produce cigarettes and vapor products.
The license auction was scheduled for April 6, which would end the decades-long monopoly held by the state-owned Eastern Company.
One source told Reuters: “Our understanding is that... the delay is indefinite... of course, if the auction is held again, the conditions will change.”
Earlier, several bidders had requested the Egyptian Industrial Federation to amend the licensing conditions.
According to two companies, these conditions protect the market share of the Eastern Company, preventing new companies from producing cigarettes at the same price as the monopolist's popular Cleopatra brand, which accounts for 98% of Eastern Company’s revenue.
On March 21, tobacco manufacturers announced that IDA had obtained a new cigarette production license through a tender, inviting companies in the tobacco industry.
It was reported that the monopoly company saw a 14% year-on-year increase in net profit in the second half of 2020, reaching 2.54 billion Egyptian pounds ($161.52 million).
The Eastern Company’s product portfolio includes cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and molasses tobacco, as well as cigarette filter sticks and homogenized tobacco.
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