Shmulik Porre, Tnuva: We resorted to local distributors in view of efficiency

Shmulik Porre, president of Tnuva Romania Dairies - the local subsidiary of the Israeli producer of the same name and one of the leading yoghurt producers on the Romanian market, says distribution is done at high costs in Romania, so a more efficient distribution system is welcome at this time of crisis.

"Distribution is very expensive because the transport infrastructure is poor and any delay means additional costs," said Porre. The company posted 21 million-euro turnover last year and over 22 million-euro losses. Since it entered the Romanian market in 2007, the company made significant investments in production and promotion, which have yet to be recouped, and which are reflected in last year's losses.

In the first half of this year Tnuva sealed partnerships with local distributors and producers, and even resorted to outsourcing in an attempt to render the business more efficient and to cut losses.

"(...) When it comes to Timişoara and south-western Romania, we found it was much more efficient to resort to other distributors, so we are now working with Dumagas for this part of the country and are considering a similar partnership with a local distributor for the Moldavia area," he explained.