Onno Rombouts, Managing Director Heineken Romania, said Monday that t 2013 was a difficult year due to unfavorable weather, a weak consumer environment and higher excise duties. Despite difficult conditions, the company managed to keep its market leader position, while its market share even rose by value, Rombouts added.
Heineken owns four breweries in Romania, in Miercurea Ciuc, Constanta, Craiova and Targu Mures, and employs 1,100 people.
Beer consumption in Romania fell 10% on the year to 16.3 million hectoliters in 2013, according to the Romanian Brewers Association.
Nearly 53.2% (a year-on-year increase of 0.7 percentage points) of Romanians preferred PET-packed beer, the consumption of bottled beer fell by some two percentage points, down to 26.3%, while consumers of beer cans accounted for 17.1% of the market, up by 1.3 percentage points compared to 2012.
Heineken ranks first in Europe and third in the world by beer volume. (EUR1=RON4.4514)