烟草在线据韩国联合通讯社报道编译　　1月21日，业内统计数字显示，主要由于经济增长减缓和普遍开展的反烟运动，韩国去年的卷烟销售比前一年减少了。

　　根据这些统计数据，日本便民连锁店在韩国的经营店Ministop韩国2012年的卷烟销售同比减少了7.6%。

　　韩国Seven公司说，其7-11便民连锁店在2012年的卷烟销售同比减少了4.3%；而由韩国当地的大型零售企业GS公司经营的GS25连锁店的烟草销售，则比上一年减少了2.2%。

　　在韩国，近一半的卷烟是通过便民店出售。

　　根据这些统计数据，烟草销售减少，是因为外国卷烟因韩国经济衰退而出现滞销所致。

　　据韩国七公司说，其7-11连锁店去年的外国品牌烟草产品的销售同比减少了11.3%，而国产卷烟的销售则增长了2.6%。韩国七公司说，外国产品的销售占其去年总卷烟销售的51.4%，比上一年减少了4.2个百分点。

　　此外，英美烟草韩国公司公布，其2012年在韩国的销售减少了17%，菲莫韩国公司去年在韩国的销售减少了11.2%。

　　市场内部人士认为，烟草销售的下滑，是因为最近外国烟草品牌涨价的缘故。2011年，英美烟草韩国公司将其最畅销的登喜路牌卷烟的价格提高了近8%，而菲莫韩国公司也在去年加入了涨价的大潮中。

　　他们还说，在公共场所实施的严格的吸烟禁令和工作场所的反烟活动，也对卷烟销售产生了影响。

　　烟草业的一名官员说：“由于经济萧条和幸福安康发展潮流，越来越多的消费者倾向于戒烟，或购买更便宜的卷烟。这种发展趋势有可能会在新年里持续。”

South Korea: Cigarette Sales Drop on Weaker Demand

　　Sales of cigarettes in South Korea last year fell from a year earlier due mainly to an economic slowdown and widespread anti-smoking movements, industry data showed Monday.

　　According to the data, Ministop Korea, the local operator of the Japan-based convenience chain store, saw its cigarette sales fall 7.6 percent on-year in 2012.

　　Korea Seven Co. said cigarette sales at its 7-Eleven convenience stores dropped 4.3 percent on-year in 2012, and GS25 chains, run by local retail conglomerate GS Corp., saw tobacco sales dip 2.2 percent on-year.

　　Nearly half of cigarettes are sold through convenience stores in South Korea.

　　The sales decline was led by sluggish sales of foreign cigarettes amid a slump in the local economy, according to the data.

　　According to Korea Seven, its sales of foreign-brand tobacco products at 7-Eleven stores last year plunged 11.3 percent on-year, while local cigarettes sales rose 2.6 percent. It also said sales of foreign products accounted for 51.4 percent of its total cigarette sales last year, down 4.2 percentage points from the previous year.

　　In addition, British American Tobacco Korea Co. (BAT Korea) posted a 17 percent drop in its 2012 sales in South Korea, and Philip Morris Korea Inc. (PM Korea) saw its Korean sales slide 11.2 percent last year.

　　Market insiders attributed the sales drop to a recent price hike in foreign brands. BAT Korea raised the price of its best-selling Dunhill by nearly 8 percent in 2011 and PM Korea joined the move last year.

　　They also said a strict smoking ban in public areas and anti-smoking movements at workplaces have affected cigarette sales.

　　"A growing number of consumers tend to quit smoking or buy cheaper cigarettes due to the economic slump and the so-called well-being trend," said an industry official. "The tendency will likely continue in the new year." Enditem