Romania : EU integration changes export destinations for beer producers

Virgil Mailat, general manager and one of the six shareholders of Bere Mures, the second largest Romanian-held company on the beer market, says Romania's EU integration has been changing export destinations for local producers, Ziarul Financiar published June 11.

With exports to the Republic of Moldova dropped due to taxes, the company is looking towards the Hungarian and Bulgarian markets. "We had a warehouse, we were selling on the market in the Republic of Moldova, but now we have withdrawn and are looking to expand towards Hungary and possibly Bulgaria," said Virgil Mailat. He added that, unfortunately, two months after accession, beer sales in Romania registered a shock, due to the flood of imported products from Bulgaria.

"The South of the country is full of Bulgarian beer, at dumping prices - high volumes at small prices," Mailat stated. The general manager of Bere Mures added that, in order to increase the company's competitiveness, he would attempt to enter onto the market of beer bottled in glass containers, which would implicitly involve investments in bottling.

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