At an (ex-works) price of 160 lei per cubic meter of bricks, this means the market stood at more than EUR450 million (almost EUR100 million). Wholesalers’ markups come on top of that, so the overall figure is higher.
“The masonry market is directly influenced by residential construction; more than 90% of consumption goes towards such construction. The market will see moderate growth of about 5% (depending on the trend of the residential construction market), says Bogdan Funieru, managing director of Neomar Consulting.
The brick industry experienced a sudden decline in 2009, going from a production of 3.12 million cubic meters to 2.07 million cubic meters, due to the financial crisis and the halt of construction projects. Romanians were no longer willing to invest in homes and developers shelved their projects. The market then went through fluctuations, with minor declines and rises year by year, and started growing again in 2013. It has yet to reach the 2008 level, 3.12 million cubic meters.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)