Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1392413
6 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 14 JULY 2021 MATTHEW VELLA MALTA'S Customs has claimed for itself a victory over the traffic of illicit cigarettes, with reduc- tions of illegal imports continu- ing to fall due to effective con- trols and tax stability. KPMG's 2020 annual report on illicit cigarette consump- tion in the EU, UK, Norway and Switzerland reveals that, while total cigarette consump- tion continued to decline, the market share of illicit cigarettes increased by 0.5%, to 7.8% of total consumption in 2020, or 34.2 billion of illicit cigarettes. The increase of illicit ciga- rettes – which consist of con- traband, counterfeit, and illic- it whites – was driven by an unprecedented 87% surge in counterfeit consumption. The tax loss for governments in the EU27 now amounts to approxi- mately €8.5 billion. But Malta has experienced a steady decline in the illicit cig- arette trade since 2016. France is the European coun- try with the highest illicit cig- arette trade incidence – 23.1% of the market share, followed by Greece with 22.4%. France registered an unprece- dented 609% increase in coun- terfeit cigarette consumption, reaching 6.0 billion of fake cig- arettes consumed. In Greece, the State lost €551 million due to the illicit ciga- rette trade in 2020. On the other hand, Malta ex- perienced a steady decline in the illicit cigarette trade since 2016. The market share of illic- it cigarette trade in Malta re- duced from 17.2% (equivalent to 0.09 billion illegal cigarettes) in 2016 to 6.4% (equivalent to 0.03 billion illegal cigarettes) in 2020. The estimated total tax reve- nue lost for Malta in 2020 was €6 million. Business Royals is the ciga- rette brand which remains the main driver of this illicit trade in Malta. Their source is main- ly Italy and Poland. Sweltering June saw above- average air and sea temperatures KURT SANSONE THE sweltering heat in June was no perception with the average air and sea temperatures shoot- ing well above the norm, data released by the Meteorological Office shows. Malta International Airport's Met Office said the average max- imum air temperature in June at 31°C was 2.4°C higher than the norm and the average sea surface temperature surpassed the monthly norm of 21.5°C by 1.9°C. The last day of June also set a new record for the maximum temperature ever recorded since 1923 for the month when the mercury hit a high of 41.5°C. The Met Office said that a heatwave stretched from 20 June until 1 July that plunged the Maltese islands right into the summer season. Hot air com- ing from the Sahara Desert was trapped by a high-pressure sys- tem over the central Mediterra- nean, causing the heatwave. But June had less sun than av- erage with 294 hours of sunshine recorded, 34 hours short of the monthly sunshine quota of 328 hours. This happened because hazy weather dominated the latter part of the month as the pres- ence of dust in suspension and high-level clouds on multiple occasions obscured the sun. Having clocked up just two hours of sunshine, 2 June was the month's dullest and only wet day. Precipitation measured on the day amounted to a pal- try 0.8mm, making the month markedly drier than the norm of 4mm. June was also slightly calmer than expected, having main- tained a mean wind speed that was 0.2 knots below the monthly norm of 7.6 knots. But despite sweltering heat, meteorological records for the month show that June 2019 re- mained the hottest June in the past five years, with a mean max- imum temperature of 31.4°C. Illicit cigarette importation to Malta continues to decline Customs says effective controls and tax stability means illicit cigarette trade continues to decline in Malta June 31°C 2.4°C higher than norm JAMES DEBONO TWO temporary caravan sites at Armier and Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq were chosen because the land is government-owned, the Envi- ronment Ministry said. The two areas were selected before a long-term policy reg- ulating the sector has been fi- nalised, in what appears to be a decision to mitigate the conse- quences of last month's clamp- down on caravans parked at Mistra Bay. "The two sites are the first to be chosen because the land in question belongs to the gov- ernment," a spokesperson for the Environment Ministry told MaltaToday, when asked about the site selection process. The spokesperson confirmed that a larger number of sites had been proposed by the pub- lic during a public consultation held in March to elicit feedback on a policy framework to reg- ulate recreational land uses for camping, caravanning and pic- nicking. This was accompanied by a call for expression of interest by landowners of sites earmarked in local plans for the purposes of such recreational activities. When asked whether the En- vironment and Resources Au- thority was involved in the site selection process, the spokes- person replied that all regulato- ry bodies will be asked for their feedback during the assessment of the applications for the tem- porary sites. Meanwhile, the Naxxar local council has protested that it was not consulted on the Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq site that falls within its confines. The council said it only got to know about the de- velopment from a MaltaToday report that appeared yesterday. The planning applications for the temporary caravan sites were presented by Infrastruc- ture Malta. The roads agency had said that it is simply "as- sisting" the Environment Min- istry in what it described as "minor civil works required to set up the two temporary car- avan sites at Armier and Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq". The 4,000sq.m site in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq will be developed on a stretch of the old Coast Road left redundant after the com- pletion of the widened road. It is situated next to a roundabout opposite the Magħtab landfill. Another caravan site is being proposed on a 2,300sq.m site in Armier next to the illegal shan- tytown in Ramlet il-Qortin. Plans submitted indicate that a rubble wall will enclose the Armier site, while a wall will al- so be built on the other site as well. No landscaping plan has been presented so far for both sites, even if this is a planning requirement for caravan areas. Land for caravan sites at Armier, Bahar ic-Caghaq is public, says ministry