The Philippine Tobacco Growers Association (PTGA) has urged the government to intensify enforcement against the illegal cigarette trade, warning that widespread smuggling is eroding farmer incomes and weakening one of the country’s key agricultural industries.

“Every illegal product sold in the market is a peso taken away from hardworking Filipino farmers. These illegal products enter our markets unchecked, undermining the value of our harvest and the integrity of our work,” PTGA President Saturnino Distor said in a statement on Wednesday. 

PTGA estimates that a Filipino tobacco farmer loses around P17,000 annually due to smuggled cigarettes flooding the market. With 59,000 PTGA members nationwide, that translates to a collective income loss of nearly P1 billion per year.

Based on industry data, illegal cigarettes sell for as low as P2.00 per stick compared to P7.00 for legal products, making them more accessible to minors and further expanding the black market.

This year alone, an estimated 11.8 billion sticks of illegal cigarettes are expected to be sold in the Philippines, equivalent to about 9.4 million kilos of tobacco that could have been sourced from local farms. 

At an average farmgate price of P104.09 per kilo, tobacco farmers have already lost P978.44 million in income this year.

The tobacco industry supports around 2.2 million Filipinos across farming, manufacturing, trade and distribution. 

PTGA said the unchecked illegal trade is hurting not only growers but transport workers, factory employees and small retailers who rely on the regulated industry.

Distor also raised public health concerns, citing reports of hazardous substances found in smuggled cigarette products. 

The government also loses around P40 billion yearly in excise tax revenues to cigarette smuggling—funds that would have otherwise supported PhilHealth and Department of Health programs.

Despite the passage of the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law last year to curb large-scale smuggling of agricultural goods, PTGA said enforcement remains weak. 

“Farmers are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for protection, for fairness, and for a chance to keep farming and feeding our families,” Distor said.