Romanians Cut Back On Soft Drinks, Bleaching Products And Frozen Fish

11.01.2011 By Cristina Roşca

Romanians cut back on soft drinks, frozen vegetables and bleaching products in the first six months of the year. The biggest losers - teeth whiteners, bath foam and frozen fish recorded over 20% declines in the first half of this year compared with the similar period of 2010.

The market of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) continued to decline by volume in the first six months of this year (a 0.2% decline), but increased in terms of value by almost nine percent, which indicates a price increase against the first half of 2010, according to the latest survey conducted by market research company Nielsen.

The FMCG market was valued at around EUR16 billion last year.

The Nielsen survey reveals that the sector most affected by the financial and economic crisis was the food sector, which fell by over five percent by volume.

Among food products, the categories most affected by the consumption decline were frozen fish, frozen vegetables and energy drinks.

The biggest decline was recorded by frozen fish in the first six months of this year, with sales falling by over 23%. The second-biggest decline was recorded by ice tea (down 14.7%) and bulk processed cheese (down 11.3%). The declines for all products are calculated only for modern retail.

According to the Nielsen survey, Romanians this year cut back on all soft drinks categories (carbonated, non-carbonated and fruit juice), with the sales decline exceeding 6% for every category.

"The decline is due both to the unfavorable economic situation that our country is currently experiencing, to Romanians' lower incomes and to the price hikes that followed the raw material price increases and the VAT hike," say representatives of Tymbark Maspex, the largest nectar producer on the Romanian market.

The company posted 245 million lei (EUR58.2 million) in sales last year and this year expects a 10% increase to around RON270 million (EUR64 million).

In the case of non-food products, Romanians cut back on household cleaning products, electric toothbrushes and bleach products. The biggest decliners fell even deeper than food products, by up to over 30%.

Sales of teeth whitening products and of bath foam fell by about a third, while sales of baby powder products, the third most affected non-food product, declined over 15%.

(English version by Daniela Stoican)