In all, brewers sold a little more than 6 million hectoliters during this period and the best month, as well as the only to see growth, was June, though its performance was offset by July and August. A simple calculation shows that Romanians drank 610 million liters of beer this summer, that is over 1.22 billion pints, which equals consumption per capita of 55 pints during the three summer months.
The beer market fell by 0.4% in the first eight months of this year compared to the same time last year, which indicates that the industry is headed towards a new year of decline. This would be its third, after consumption shrank in 2009 and 2010. Total volumes in beer industry reached 17 million hectoliters last year, 3.4% less than in 2009, according to the data of the Romanian Brewers Association, whose members include Ursus, Heineken, Bergenbier, Romaqua (through Albacher and Dorfer brands) and URBB (United Romanian Breweries Bereprod).
These are the first pieces of information available about the beer sales during the summer, as none of the companies in this business has revealed any results for the period or estimates about the progression of the market.
The latest data available from the Romanian Brewers shows beer consumption stood at 8 million hectoliters in the first half of 2011, almost the same as in the corresponding period of 2010.
(English version by Loredana Frățilă-Cristescu)