Despite visibly decelerating, the FMCG sales in Romania maintained a positive 1.1% y/y growth in volume terms in the third quarter of 2025, according to NielsenIQ data cited by Ziarul Financiar.

However, the pace eased visibly from 4%-5% y/y growth rates in the previous quarters, resulting in an overall 3.2% y/y advance for the 12 months ending September 2025 that still stands out as among the strongest in the region.

The FMCG retail sales rose by 6.9% y/y in value terms in Romania for the 12 months, the market research consultancy firm says.

In the region, Romania’s FMCG market maintains among the highest growth rates over the 12 months ending September, surpassed only by Greece (+4.3% y/y) and Bulgaria (+3.9% y/y). The FMCG sales rose by only 1.1% y/y in Hungary and contracted by 1.4% y/y in Poland. In all of Europe, they rose by only 0.5% y/y on average, with the Eastern European market performing better (+0.9% y/y). 

Austerity measures prolonged by the Romanian authorities in 2026 and an uncertain economic outlook are, however, likely to further deteriorate households’ propensity for consumption after the Q3 data already pointed to such a trend.

From among the fastest-growing markets, Romania may fall among the laggards as the private consumption corrects towards more sustainable levels.

Consumer confidence in Romania has already plunged to under -30 points in July (compared to -10 to -15 in seven Central and Eastern European peers, according to an Erste Research report based on Eurostat data,  and improved only marginally meanwhile.

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iulian@romania-insider.com