Considering the market opening perspectives and the globalization of economy, and with the aim of raising the national product to a competitive level, the Tunisian tobacco sector through its two manufacturing units, RNTA and MTK, launched an integrated partnership since 1995. Objectives sought can mainly be summarized in the following points:

Progressively repatriate the integral manufacturing of the cigarettes range 20 Mars Inter in rigid packets; Ensure a quality responding to international healthcare standards; Ensure regularity in the market supply and face the increasing demand to this type of cigarettes; Ensure the training and the transfer of technology in order to provide Tunisian labor force with a full grasp of all production stages; Obtain the best cost and quality conditions.

For this reason, commercial contracts including integrated partnership programs have been concluded with the BAT and JTI companies since 1995. The execution phases are as follows:

1995 conclusion a multi-year purchase contract between F.J.Burrus (BAT) and RNTA to supply the market needs with the 20 Mars Inter cigarettes and which production is divided according to the following proportions:

40% at the FJ Burrus factory in Switzerland;
50% through the F.J Burrus subsidiary « Intertab » based in Nianou (40 km from Tunis) as an off-shore company with a production capacity of 1,2 billion cigarettes/year.
The tobacco mix is directly provided by the FJ Burrus plants in Switzerland. As for production materials, 50% are acquired at the local market;
10% at the manufacturing-packing workshops based by the partner in RNTA’s industrial site as a training instrument, designed to improve RNTA’s full production performances. The technical assistance and the tobacco mix are performed by the partner.

The production capacity of the pilot workshop increased from 270 million cigarettes in the beginning to 2,6 billion cigarettes in 2003 thanks to investments made by the RNTA.

In 1997 : a manufacturing-packing unit of “box” cigarettes was installed by the RJR in Kairouan with a capacity of 4 billion cigarettes/year. The signing of a commercial contract with the MTK in the framework of an integrated partnership enabled the launching of the production of new labels of cigarettes mainly including Cristal Extra and Light Cristal with no consideration to sub-contracting quantities of 20 Mars Inter.

In 1999 : RNTA - JTI (RJR) : signing of a commercial contract for the delivery of Light 20 Mars cigarettes and the supply of tobacco mix of 20 Mars Inter and Light 20 Mars

In 1999 : MTK-JTI (RJR) : signing of a sub-contract for the transformation of tobacco in MTK plants at a rate of 3600 Tons/year.

In 2003-2005 : Commercial contracts with the BAT and JTI partners have been extended for a period of 18 months after negotiations namely concerning quality aspects.

Results obtained during the 1995-2007 period compared to sought objectives are encouraging, enabling the repatriation of Box cigarettes production to the national territory in the most suitable cost and quality conditions.

On the macro-economic level, this type of partnership enabled national companies to provide to up to 50% of the tobacco market with “Box” cigarettes fabrication materials.