The brewers only enjoyed three months of growth (September, October and December) in 2014, since the summer was really slow.
Fears of a new decline surfaced as early as mid last year because of the weather that did not encourage consumption and the rise in prices due to the excise duty hike.
With last year’s decline, the beer market reverted to the less than 16.5 million hectoliter level of 2005.
Out of the brewers that have announced their results so far, Heineken posted 5% decline. Heineken had its second year of decline in a row in line with the market, a trend its officials blame on the bad weather and the inert economy.
On the other hand, Canada’s Molson Coors’ (Bergenbier) performance in Romania improved, while sales volumes in Europe dropped slightly.
Heineken, Bergenbier and Ursus account for more than 70% of the local beer market together.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)