Tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris International has opened a new factory in Lviv region, investing $30 million in it.

"The first line is already in operation, the second line is almost completed and will be launched in June... "In total, five lines will be installed, 10 billion cigarettes will be produced, which fully meet the needs of the local market of Ukraine," said Maksym Barabash, CEO of Philip Morris Ukraine (PMU), at the opening of the factory in Lviv region on Wednesday.

He emphasized that the focus of production is currently on covering the cigarette demand of the market, so the factory in Lviv region will produce cigarettes.

According to him, there are no plans to potentially expand exports abroad or produce other products.

According to PMU, the factory will create 250 jobs: the company already employs about 100 workers relocated from the Kharkiv factory, which was "mothballed" on February 24, 2024, and plans to relocate another 150 people by the end of the year.

"My dream for the future after the victory is that we have two factories. "We want one to produce cigarettes, and the other one in Kharkiv to develop new products that will be relevant and up-to-date by the time this happens," Barabash summarized.

According to him, this year Philip Morris is celebrating 30 years of operation in Ukraine, during which time the company has invested about $750 million in the Ukrainian economy and is one of the largest taxpayers.

Philip Morris was spun off from Altria in 2008 and is one of the world's largest tobacco manufacturers.

PMI has been operating in the Ukrainian market since 1994, and during this time its declared investments have exceeded $700 million. On February 24, 2022, the company suspended the operation of its factory in Kharkiv region due to Russian aggression and was forced to switch to importing products from eight PMI factories outside the country and a temporary partnership with another international manufacturer in Ukraine.

In addition to cigarettes, PMI develops and manufactures smokeless products, such as systems for electrically heating tobacco, POD systems containing nicotine, and oral nicotine products.

Since 2008, PMI has invested more than $12.5 billion in the development, research and commercialization of innovative smokeless products.

As of March 31, 2024, PMI's smokeless products were available for sale in more than 80 markets worldwide. Sales of smokeless products accounted for 39% of PMI's total net revenue in Q1 2024