Due to the growing demand from Philippine consumers for heatsticks and the increasing export potential of heatsticks, the Philippine government is currently focusing on developing the heatstick manufacturing industry.

Ceferino Rudolph, undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, said that due to factors such as taxes and price increases, the demand for cigarettes in the Philippines is expected to decrease in the next few years, and the demand for heatsticks will grow significantly. Therefore, they welcome heatstick manufacturers to set up factories in the Philippines.

According to a Euromonitor report, heated cigarette sales in the Philippines stood at 660 million units in 2022 and are likely to increase to 4.06 billion units by 2027.

Rudolph stressed that under the Free Trade agreement, the production of heatsticks in the Philippines can enjoy tax incentives, which is attractive to manufacturers. The Philippine tobacco industry has a sound foundation. According to statistics, in 2022, tobacco products produced in the Philippines were mainly exported to South Korea (exports of $102.2 million), Thailand (exports of $98.29 million), Myanmar (exports of $49.4 million), Singapore (exports of $43.02 million) and Malaysia (exports of $41.21 million).

According to Rudolph, multinational tobacco companies are actively looking for opportunities to produce heatsticks in the Philippines in order to gain better access to the Philippine market. Although the Philippines currently has a relatively small share of the global tobacco industry, in emerging sectors such as heatsticks, the country has an opportunity to further enhance its competitiveness in the global market by increasing its level of specialization.