The Romanian beer market declines for the second consecutive year

The Romanian beer market went down by 3.5 percent last year, reaching a volume of 17 million hectoliters, announced the Brewers of Romania Association. Over the past two years the market went down by 16 percent against 2008, the year when the beer sales volume reached a maximum quota of 20.2 million hectoliters.

Beer consumption per capita in 2010 recorded a value of 78 liters, continuing the descending trend started in 2009, “proving the fact that the economic situation has affected consumers and their consumption habits,” according to the association. In terms of packaging, consumer’s preferences remained constant – PET (49.3 percent), glass bottle (31.7 percent), can (16 percent) and draught (3 percent).

About 99 percent of the beer consumed in Romania is covered by local production, according to Jan Derck van Karnebeek, president of the Brewers of Romania Association. Due to market conditions 2010 saw the closing a three local breweries. Ursus, Heineken and Bergenbier each closed one brewery last year.

“Although the beer industry in 2010 faced a series of changes due to the economic recession, strongly affecting the level of investment and labor, and also the closure of some breweries, we want that through our sustained efforts to maintain stability and also the recovery of this sector with a mainly local production.”, said Constantin Bratu, general manager of the Brewers of Romania Association.

The members of the Brewers of Romania Association are Bergenbier, Heineken Romania, Romaqua Group, United Romanian Breweries and Ursus Breweries. Their cumulated investments reach EUR 51 million in 2010, while their contribution to the state budget through various taxes amounts to EUR 270 million, up by EUR 7 million compared with 2009, according to data from the association.

The five companies operate a total of ten beer factories and produced a total volume of 15.3 million hectoliters in 2010, 4.4 percent less than in the previous year.

Starting this year, two new members have joined the Brewers of Romania Association – Soufflet Malt Romania and the Association of Hops Producers from Romania – thus opening the way for suppliers’ representaives into the association.