Romanian beer market up 7 pct in 2012 on sports events and good weather

Romanians drank 18.2 million hectoliters of beer in 2012, up 7 percent y-o-y, according to data released by the Brewers of Romania Association whose five main members – Bergenbier, Heineken Romania, Romaqua Group, United Romanian Breweries and Ursus Breweries – account for over 90 percent of the beer sold in Romania.

In value, the Romanian beer market reached some EUR 1.8 billion last year.

“Although last year we have seen an upward trend in beer consumption we are cautious regarding this year’s evolution. The factors which have influenced the 2012 growth were contextual and this is why we consider it is premature to speak about a positive trend on the long run. Romanians have not had in 2012 more money to spend compared to the previous years in order to boost consumption,” said Andrew Highcock, the association’s president and also president of Ursus Breweries.

The growth was mainly generated by events such as the Olympics and Europa League final as well as good weather during the summer months when brewers sell the largest volumes. After the excise tax for beer has gone up by about 16 percent this February, beer industry representatives are even more cautious about 2013 evolution considering that the purchasing power has not improved.

The five main members of the association reported a 6.5 percent increase in volume last year (16.6 million hectoliters).

Strongly affected by the economic crisis which triggered a major decrease of the Romanians’ purchasing power, the brewing market faced a significant consumption contraction over the past few years, the cumulated decrease in 2009 and 2010 reaching 16 percent.

98 percent of the beer sold in Romania is produced locally.