KT&G’s overseas sales exceeded $200 million in the first quarter, the highest quarterly sales since it started shipping cigarettes to overseas markets in 1988. The country's largest cigarette maker said on April 21 that sales jumped 38 percent to $209 million.
By region, sales ascended 30 percent y-o-y in the company’s major overseas markets, including the Middle East, Central Asia and Russia.
In its relatively new markets, including the US, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America, sales climbed 48 percent y-o-y. A KT&G official said: “We saw sales growing across all our markets. In particular, sales surged 59 percent and 186 percent in Africa and Latin America, respectively.”
Sales volumes also rose sharply. KT&G sold 12.6 billion cigarettes overseas, up 19 percent y-o-y and higher than its domestic sales of 10.5 billion cigarettes. Overseas sales hit an all-time high last year: KT&G sold 47.5 billion cigarettes overseas last year, surpassing its domestic sales of 40.6 billion cigarettes.
Esse, one of KT&G's major cigarette brands, accounted roughly half of total overseas sales. Esse, the company’s most successful super-slim cigarette brand, has maintained its No.1 position in the domestic market for more than a decade. As of now, Esse takes up a third of the global super-slim cigarette market’s sales.
KT&G, the fifth-largest cigarette maker in the world, has been exporting its cigarettes to nearly 50 countries.
