BAT expands Serbian manufacturing capacities by 20%

"We are very pleased and very happy with the business environment in Serbia. Our business is doing extremely well. First, on the production side, our factory is growing, we are expanding our manufacturing capacities by 20% and we will be exporting roughly 50% of what we manufacture in Serbia," Araya told Tanjug news agency in an interview on Wednesday. A video file with his statement is uploaded on Tanjug's website.

"On the commercial side of the business, Serbia is one of the lead markets in Europe. We are the only company in the industry present in all the so-called new categories and reduced risk products - we have products in the tobacco heated space, in the herbal heated space, in vapour, and more recently nicotine pouches," Araya said, adding that in the market objective of moving consumers from traditional cigarettes into reduced risk products, Serbia is at the forefront.

BAT bought Serbian tobacco company Duvanska Industrija Vranje (DIV) in 2003. Up until late 2020, it had invested 270 million euro ($290 million) in the Vranje factory, according to earlier media reports.

BAT's competitors in Serbia include the local units of Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International.

($ = 0.930 euro)