Skopje, 25 April 2025 (MIA) — In a press release Friday, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy said it had paid off the national debt to tobacco growers for the tobacco they had grown and sold the state in 2024.

"We have fulfilled our promise to tobacco growers. Today, we made direct payments for the tobacco produced and sold from the 2024 harvest," the release said, adding that the state had paid 14,502 tobacco growers EUR 40 million in total.

The beneficiaries of the tobacco buyout government measure are individuals and legal entities who have entered into contractual agreements to sell their tobacco to the state in line with the Law on Tobacco, Tobacco Products and Related Products. mr/