The top ten wine producers in 2010 reported turnover of over EUR177 million, compared to EUR190 million in 2009. The market leader, Murfatlar, did not manage to break the EUR30-million threshold, while the company that filled the 20th position, Viti Pomicola Simburesti, reached EUR1.5 million in turnover.
“At Tohani, we have a very, very good crop this year. 2011 is one of the best of the past ten years. The conditions are perfect. Compared to a regular year, the crop will be 20% bigger in quantity,” said Virgil Mandru, owner of Domeniile Tohani.
The company, among the ten largest in the industry last year by turnover, saw business decline by 16%, but Mandru says the decline will be offset in 2011.
The wine industry includes around 100 producers, most of them with low turnovers. According to ZF calculations, only nine companies in the industry boast turnovers of more than EUR10 million.
“The wine market is stable in terms of companies that are present. In recent years, the newcomers were small and medium-sized companies with areas of 50-100 hectares,” said Ovidiu Gheorghe, general manager of the National Vineyard and Wine Producers’ Employers Association (PNVV).
An example of a recent investment in the wine industry is Lacerta Winery, owned by Austrian and German investors. Lacerta wines emerged on the market in the wake of EUR6 million investments. This is one of the few foreign investments in the domestic wine industry, as most companies are family businesses.
The wine market is still wobbly after two years of declines of around 10%, and the market does not exceed EUR350 million.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu; Editing by Oana Gavrila)