Food industry producers expect flat sales for this Decembercompared with December 2008 or an increase by no more than 5%.
These results would have been considered weak in a year with noeconomic downturn, as December used to bring the biggest sales formany markets in the food industry, but amid the current marketconditions producers maintain even a 5% advance would be good.
"I am not expecting a miraculous beer sales rally in the fourthquarter of this year. It would be naive of me. Recession willcontinue in the last part of the year and the first part of 2010,"stated Jan Derck van Karnebeek, general manager of HeinekenRomania, one of the biggest brewers, with turnover worth above 225meuros. The beer industry was among the hardest hit segments of theRomanian industry in 2009. However, the segment suffering the mostin December will be that of imported alcoholic drinks as the fourthquarter can bring as much as 35% of an importer's annual turnover."(...) If importers manage to derive RON turnover similar with thatof 2008, volumes on the entire market will be 10-15% lower onaverage than the ones generated last December," stated Pepe Berciu,general manager of BDG Import.
Also, the owner of CrisTim charcuterie producer estimates the10% average drop in sales posted on the market so far this yearwill maintain in the last month of 2009.
Dairy producers' representatives maintain December will be adecisive month for this industry as, depending on December resultsthe market will end the year either with a decline or increase insales.
Flat sales this December from December 2008 is as a matter offact the dream of all producers. Emilian Dobrescu, therepresentative of Agrana Romania sugar producer, maintains, though,that consumers' preferences have changed this year, with a risingnumber of people preparing at home what they could eat out.
To keep sales at the level of last year, producers will resortto promotional campaigns in December, too, at the same level oreven bigger than in December 2008.
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