Global Spirits makes 19m-euro sales in 2005

Global Spirits Ploiesti, the maker of Dakk and Goldessa vodka and Bartender's gin, concluded last year with 11 million euros in sales, down more than 3.5 million euros on the previous year. Gheorghe Iaciu, Global Spirits' chairman and majority shareholder, says the decline was due to the increase in excises, which used to be included in turnover. The company was the second top producer of pure alcohol last year, after European Drinks, with 6.9 million litres. Global Spirits forecasts sales of 19 million euros and a growth in alcohol sales to nearly 11 million litres this year, given that the minimum guaranteed price set by Garant - a trade association of most producers of spirits in Romania - was dropped last year. ZF< /P>