Romanians cut down on drinking as spending power plummets

Romanians drank around 60 million liters of alcohol in the first nine months of this year, 18.8 percent less year-on-year, mainly because of lower purchasing power, said Petru Berciu, CEO at BDG, quoted by newswire Mediafax. A recent survey by research firm Canadean shows consumption of alcoholic beverages dropped by 4.4 percent this year. The study gives reduced consumer spending power as the main reason for the drop off and suggested Romanians are buying less and buying cheaper. Berciu also said that the alcoholic beverage market was dominated by special offers and discounts. The Romanian vermouth market dropped by almost 20 percent in the last few years and the whiskey market is expected to shrink by up to 8 percent this year, according to Berciu. BDG Company is one of the largest Romanian importers of alcoholic beverages. It distributes brands such as Jack Daniel’s, Finlandia, Corona, Budweiser, Bacardi and Evian. Alex Camburu, alex.camburu@romania-insider.com (photo: Sxc.hu)