Romanians drank 8.7 million hectoliters of beer in the first half of this year, up 4 percent compared with the same period last year and the first growth in the beer market since the crisis, according to the Brewers of Romania Association. The sales volume registered within the first six months of this year were also up, reaching 7.8 million hectoliters and a 5.4 percent year-on-year growth. The heatwave and the European Football Championship helped brewers sell more beer in Romania this year.

“This rise was caused by a series of factors that triggered a pick-up in consumption. High temperatures and the European Football Championship have created a favorable context for Romanians to go back to a pre-crisis consumption level, ” said Hezy Ovadia, president of the Brewers of Romania Association. He added that this is the first growth registered by the Romanian beer market since the beginning of the crisis.

At the moment, 98 percent of the beer sold in Romania is produced locally and the sector registers the lowest import levels in the food industry.

The Brewers of Romania Association data comes right after a study published by GfK based on information obtained by monitoring household consumption of around 90 categories of consumer products. The results of the study also report that the amount spent on food decreased by 2 percent, while expenditure for soft drinks and beer increased 5 percent. Based on reference data provided by the latest census in Romania, each Romanian drank 89 liters of beer in 2011.

On the other hand, the brewing market was heavily affected by the economic crisis and faced a consumption contraction over the past few years. The cumulative decrease in 2009 and 2010 reached 16 percent. In 2011, beer sales totaled 17 million hectoliters in Romania.

According to a study published by Ernst &Young, there are 3,638 breweries in EU countries and the annual sales on the EU beer market reach EUR 106 billion.

In Romania, the members of the Brewers Association are Bergenbier, Heineken Romania, Romaqua Group, Ursus Breweries and United Romanian Breweries (URBB), which together have ten factories and employ 4,200 people.

Iulia Marin

(photo source: sxc.hu)