Cigarette industry braces for hike

Cigarette industry braces for hike

SEMARANG, Central Java: The fuel price increase planned for Oct. 1 can be expected to drive up cigarette production costs, leading to a business slowdown, a member of the cigarette industry said on Monday.

"Even without the fuel price hike, we have been struggling with the rising price of papers, cloves and tobacco leafs. If fuel prices increase 50 percent as planned, it will hit the cigarette industry much harder," said Guntur, the secretary- general of cigarette companies in Kudus, Central Java.

Despite the worrying prospects, Guntur said laying off workers was the industry's last resort. -- Antara