In the first quarter of 2007 Bulgarian cigarette producer Bulgartabac Holding registered a 30 per cent increase in sales on the domestic market.

In March and April sales were equal or slightly higher than the figures for the same period of 2006, Bulgartabac executive manager Hristo Lachev said.
 
After Bulgartabac announced a decrease in the price of local brands, it managed to restore the sales volume, Lachev said. Local brands suffered after Bulgaria’s EU accession, when the price of foreign cigarette brands went down.

Bulgartabac also lost some of its market share in 2006 due to cigarette smuggling, Lachev said. This year, the smuggled amounts seem to have decreased, since the holding managed to restore its share.
 
In the end of January, Bulgartabac decided to decrease the prices of some brands, excluding the most popular Victory. MM and Eva brands also kept their prices unchanged.