"Following integration, there will be huge pressures from European Community producers, as they will be trying to get hold of a very strong retail market. This will be a time when the last of the Mohicans can be taken over," says Sorin Minea, chairman of Romalimenta, an organisation including the major food industry producers.
"I believe we will originally witness a 10-15% decline in food product prices, aimed to grab market shares, with the market to settle afterwards and prices to stabilise. Multinationals, their distributors and major key-accounts networks will lead the way," the Romalimenta official added.
According to Minea, sweets, soft drinks and chocolate will see steeper price falls. In his opinion, meat and milk prices will not witness considerable modifications. since raw material prices are approximately equal.
At the moment of EU integration, all imports of freight from EU member states will be exempt from all customs duties when they enter Romania.
"Once Romania joins the EU, the entire legislation related to the Union's trade policy will be directly applicable in Romania," said Vasile Radu, director in charge with trade policy issues with the Foreign Trade Department.
Not everybody is forecasting a decline in prices for food products, though, with many voices maintaining there will even be some growth, at least in the short term, as it happened in the case of Hungary.
"It is difficult to anticipate what is going to happen because importers deciding to sell on the domestic market will make this decision targeting higher profits than they get on their home markets. I do not believe they will come with lower prices," says Raul Ciurtin, chairman of Albalact, one of the major players in the dairy industry.
Post-accession trade
Many plants will close down, but imports will grow amid competition between European producers
All imports of freight from the EU will be exempt from all customs duties when they enter Romania
Some say food product prices will drop by 10-15%, with the market to stabilise afterwards
Others maintain food product prices will not drop, but on the contrary, they will go up.
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