Lower excises, more coffee

Asociatia Romana a Cafelei (The Romanian Coffee Association - ARC) considers the reduction in coffee excises as of January 1st 2005 will lead to a decrease in coffee prices and to higher consumption. "The Ministry of Public Finances was open to the interests of the coffee industry in Romania and at the same time came to Romanian consumers' help by gradually doing away with these excises, ahead of Romania's entry into the EU," stated Gabriel Sidere, ARC spokesperson. According to data released by ARC, coffee consumption in Romania last year amounted to 1.5kg/capita, five times less than the EU average. In line with a normative document recently passed by the government, coffee excises will be reduced by about 20% for all coffee-based products. Gre en coffee excises will stand at 680 euros/tonne, excises for roasted coffee will reach 1,000 euros/tonne, while excises for instant coffee will reach 4 euros/tonne. ZF