After a period of steady decline throughout 2024, in February 2025 Ukraine once again recorded growth in the share of illegal tobacco circulation - it reached 14.1%.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the "Monitoring of Illegal Tobacco Trade in Ukraine" conducted by Kantar Ukraine.
It is noted that, according to expert estimates, due to the illegal circulation of cigarettes, the state budget annually loses about UAH 24.2 billion, and the volume of the “shadow” market exceeds 5 billion cigarettes.
"After a long decline throughout 2024, we are once again seeing growth in the share of the illegal market - in February 2025 it reached 14.1%. There is a noticeable increase in products marked Duty Free or intended for export, which are illegally sold in Ukraine. We are also seeing more cases of counterfeiting, including with fake excise stamps. The market is once again demonstrating adaptability, and the structure of the illegal segment is changing quite rapidly," noted Kantar Ukraine analyst Tetyana Sverdlyk.
According to the study, a third of all counterfeit tobacco products (33%) show signs of fake excise stamps. Of this amount, 25% are products that, according to the labeling, were produced by companies Marshall Finest Tobacco, United Tobacco, or VK Tobacco FZE. Another 8% are products marked "Ukrainian Tobacco Production".
It is also reported that the largest share among illegally sold cigarettes marked Duty Free or for export (55%) is held by products allegedly produced at the Vynnyky Tobacco Factory. The most common brands in this group are Compliment (50%) and Lifa (5%). The remaining 45% are products with no clearly identified manufacturer. In this category, the leading brands are Marshall (25%), Urta (9%), and Brut (6%).
