Tobacco cultivation is not legal in Egypt, therefore companies who produce tobacco products must rely on imported raw tobacco largely imported from India and China, as well as from Brazil, Italy, Syrian Arab Republic, and the United States of America. Egypt's tobacco industry is dominated by the Eastern Tobacco Company (ETC), the largest cigarette manufacturer in the Middle East. A small but ever increasing amount of Egyptian cigarettes are exported to neighboring countries, mostly to serve Egyptians working abroad.[7]