Philip Morris opens $30 mln tobacco factory in Lvov region

MOSCOW. May 15 (Interfax) - Philip Morris International on Wednesday officially opened a factory costing $30 million in the Lvov region, Ukrainian media reported, citing a company press release.

The factory will have five production lines. The first started operating in May, the second should be launched in June and the rest before the end of the year, ramping the factory's production capacity up to 10 billion cigarettes per year, enough to meet the Ukrainian market's needs, the press release says.

There are currently no plans to expand for export or other products. The factory will create 250 jobs. It currently has about 100 employees from the Kharkov Philip Morris factory, which was mothballed.

Philip Morris has been operating in the Ukrainian market since 1994, investing about $750 million in 30 years.

Before opening the factory in Lvov region, PMI switched to supplying products to Ukraine from its eight factories outside the country. Philip Morris reduced shipments to the Ukrainian market by 30.1% in 2022 to 11.07 billion cigarettes and tobacco sticks, increasing them 8.4% in 2023, including 14.9% in Q4. The company's share of the Ukrainian market is 24%.