Romania & Australia: Australian group Foster's intends to enter Romanian beer market

Australian group Foster's is planning to enter Romanian beer market, national newspaper, Ziarul Financiar, communicated on April 25. According to the cited source Foster's is discussing either to import its beer brands or to manufacture them in one of Romanian factories held by another company.

Market sources said Foster's is discussing with Martens Romania, a subsidiary of Belgian Martens Breweries (4th place on the Belgian beer market) for possible making and bottling of some beer brands in the factory owned by Martens in Galati (east of Romania).

Foster's has recently started an extension campaign by entering strongly the Turkish and Russian markets. The Turkish beer market has recorded spectacular increases in the past years, but it has lower volumes than the Romanian beer market - 11 million hectoliters versus 14 million hectoliters, the daily informs.

According to the National Institute of Statistics, Romania's 2004 beer production stood at 14.5 million hectoliters, up 13.2 % as compared to 2003. The beer consumption per capita stood at 66 litres in 2004, up 11.8 % versus 2003.

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