Report: Romania's food service sector could be a regional leader over the next five years

The turnover in the Romanian restaurants and food service sector is estimated to reach USD 1.51 billion in 2020, according to GTK East Consulting, quoted in a USDA Foreign Agricultural Service report on the Romanian Hotel Restaurant and Institutional Food Service. According to the same report, the country’s food sector could be a “regional leader over the next five years, driven by the improving labor market, real wage growth, and low levels of inflation.” The USDA report quotes BMI Research that foresees a positive outlook for the local food and drink sector on the back of strong private consumption growth. The same BMI Research study estimates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6% over the 2014 -2019 period. Restaurant revenues have surpassed the other sectors within the hospitality industry every year and increased by 51% from 2011 until 2014, according to data from GTK and the Romanian National Statistics Institute (INS) quoted by the USDA report. The capital Bucharest, the large cities, and the main tourist areas in the country accounted for the highest share of spending on full-service restaurants, the report notes. “The full-service restaurants located in these areas are dominated by the culture of dining out as part of daily business activity during the working days and the need for entertainment during the weekend, particularly among groups of friends and family.” Restaurants offering economic, value-for-money menus continue to dominate the local full service restaurant industry, the report notes. At the same time, the quick service restaurant segment is projected to increase in value by 4% yearly, to reach USD 0.57 billion in 2020, according to Euromonitor data quoted in the report. Overall, the US agri-food exports to Romania grew by 45% year-on-year in 2015 to reach USD 139 million. The main commodities the US is exporting to Romania include planting seeds, food preparations, beverages, fruits and nuts, and seafood, according to the USDA report. editor@romania-insider.com