Poultry producers' sales up by over 20%

The leading companies on the poultry market, Transavia, Agricola Bacau, Agroli Group and Ave Impex, recorded over 20% sales rises in the first five months of this year against the similar period of last year because of investments made in 2008, as well as to a shift in consumer preferences towards cheaper food. According to data provided by the Romanian Poultry Farmers Association, poultry deliveries recorded in the in the first four months of this year exceeded 110,000 tonnes, amounting to over 250 million euros, up 26% against the similar time in 2008. Poultry is among the few segments in the food industry to see rises in the first part of this year, whilst charcuterie producers announced a stagnation in the volume of sales in the first quarter, and the dairy market recorded a 20% sales decline in the same period of 2009. Just one year ago, representatives of poultry producers said they could not raise prices because of the weak sales recorded in the sector. "The sales volume of the Transavia group saw a 20% rise in the first five months of the year, confirming our forecasts, which point to a production of over 50,000 tonnes of poultry in 2009 (...)," says Ioan Popa, general manager of Transavia, the largest poultry producer on the Romanian market.