Tobacco company of Prilep to be put for sale by September.

The tender competition for selling Tutunski kombinat, the tobacco company of Prilep, will be announced by the end of September, the management of the company said. They say that several companies have already expressed interest in taking over Tutunski kombinat. Its management believes that it would be best if the company was split in two parts before being offered for sale.

Aleksandar Dermendziev, director of Tutunski kombinat, in-formed that the company owed the state around 30 million euros, which should be converted into a lasting stake, whereby the state would become owner of 90 percent of the company. The other liabilities are said to have been settled on a regular basis.

According to Dermendizev, the principal intention is to keep all employees at work. In his view, the best model of selling the company is by dividing it in two parts. The Government, however, will have the final say.

Dermendziev informed that the last year's debts relative to those of 2010 of 5 mill. euros had been reduced by half a million. He also said they managed to restore the tobacco farmers' trust over the past couple of years and to purchase 3,000 tons of tobacco every year which they sold to third parties.