Bulgarian quoted cigarette manufacturers reported a 65% average rise in exports in 2010, data in the companies' fourth-quarter financial reports showed.

The cigarette factories of state-owned tobacco group Bulgartabac in Blagoevgrad and Sofia reported an increase in export volumes of 40% and 80%, respectively. The group's total cigarette sales abroad came in at 13 billion pieces, up 58% on the year.

Bulgartabac's domestic sales, however, continued to shrink in the period and its market share saw a sharp contraction. The group's sales on the home market plummeted 54% in 2010 to 3.3 billion pieces, while overall official sales of cigarettes in the country amounted to 10.6 billion pieces, according to data of local tobacco companies.

The decline was attributed to increasing competition, the population's low purchasing power, a fierce price war following the drastic rise in excise duties in 2010 and growing smuggling.

Cigarette manufacturers project the upward trend in exports to be preserved in 2011, with Bulgartabac predicting a rise of at least 21% in sales abroad this year. The group mainly exports its products to the Middle East but is also negotiating the launch of exports to other countries including Slovenia, Croatia, Poland and several African states.