Romanian beer market drops 8 pct in first 8 months

Romanians drank 8 percent less beer in the first eight months of 2013 and should the downward trend be maintained until the end of the year, the market will drop to the lowest level since 2008, said today Constantin Bratu, general manager of the Brewers of Romania Association, during a Mediafax event.

The association’s five main members – Bergenbier, Heineken Romania, Romaqua Group, United Romanian Breweries and Ursus Breweries – account for over 90 percent of the beer sold in the country.

Some 8 million hl of beer was sold in Romania in the first semester of this year, down by almost 3 percent y-o-y.

Evolution of Romanian beer market (million hl, Brewers of Romania data)

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

15.2 17.7 19.4 20.2 17.6 17 17 18.2

A 10 percent excise tax hike (expressed in euros) earlier this year and fickle weather led to sold volumes falling, says the association. According to Bratu, the beer sector already contributes 60 percent of all the excise tax revenues collected by the state for alcohol products, twice the European average. The authorities now need to focus on fighting tax evasion in other industries instead of hiking taxes, he stressed.

With 98 percent of the beer drunk in Romania being produced locally, the beer industry is an important player in the local economy, according to the association. Since 2007, the industry has generated EUR 4 billion for the state budget. In 2012 alone, it contributed EUR 283 million in the form of VAT, excises, social security and other taxes. This was EUR 11 million above the 2011 level. Should consumption pick up, also helped by an adequate fiscal policy, the industry could generate even more and not only in the form of budget revenues, says the association.

The Brewers of Romania Association’s members employ over 4,250 people in the 12 breweries they operate.

Simona Bazavan

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