RJR Launches Camel Production in Bulgaria (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

RJR Makes Camel Cigarettes In Bulgaria

 Tuesday June 29 9:00 AM ET 

 SOFIA, Bulgaria (Reuters) - R.J. Reynolds International, which earlier
this month
 was bought by Japan Tobacco Inc., launched production of its Camel
cigarettes
 in the Bulgartabak Sofia factory, officials said Tuesday.

 ``Production of Camel cigarettes has already started and we hope to reach
 annual output of 1,500 tons of cigarettes in three years,''
Bulgartabak Holding
 Chief Executive Officer Boyko Kishkov told a news conference.

 The Sofia tobacco factory is part of the Bulgartabak tobacco monopoly,
which
 operates 22 factories in Bulgaria and five abroad in Romania and
former Soviet
 republics.

 The cigarettes intended for the Bulgarian market consist of 75 percent
of RJR's
 basic tobacco mix with 25 percent of Oriental tobacco leaves grown in
Bulgaria.

 The license agreement between R.J. Reynolds International and Bulgartabak
 was signed last December.

 Kishkov said the license to produce Camel would increase Bulgartabak's
price
 in its expected public offering later this year, but declined to give
further details.

 Bulgartabak makes around 70 cigarette brands and last year sold 34 billion
 cigarettes of which 32 percent were exported.