Beer sales back up in May in Romania after sluggish beginning to the year

Beer sales were back up slightly in April in Romania, while the growth was of 16 percent in May, compensating for the drop in the first months of the year, according to data from the National Statistics Institute. May was so far the best month of the year for beer sales, but pundits expect even better months to come during summer.

The beer market was up 2.3 percent during the first five months of the year. The Europa League final in May helped increase beer sales, while commentators expect increases from June, due to the European Football Championship. Romanians drank less beer in the first three months of this year, mainly because of the cold weather and heavy snow in January and February. This exacerbated the unfavorable economic context, as Romanians tended to control their expenses more. The volume of beer sold in Romania was 5 percent lower in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same period of last year. Compared to the peak year 2008, the Romanian beer market has dropped by around a quarter. On average, Europeans have to work for around eight minutes to afford a beer, while Romanians have to work for half an hour, said Constantin Bratu, general manager of the Association Romania’s Brewers. The decline on the local beer market started in 2008 and eased in 2011, only to return to a decreasing trend in the first part of this year. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: sxc.hu)