Masterfoods Romania could open a factory in Romania, if the market of sweets and pet food maintains a steady growth pace.
a"The market of products on which we operate is still forming in Romania and there can be no talk of profitability without a critical consumption mass to sustain the volumes produced by a factory operating at optimum parameters. Our purpose is to take the market of such products to an optimum development level to be able to move to a higher investment stage," stated Ilinca Burlan, external affairs manager with Masterfoods Romania.
Although consumption of chocolate in Romania has gone up lately, it remains low compared with the countries in the European Union, which reveals the development potential of the domestic market, players in this field say.
At present, chocolate consumption stands at a little more than 1 kilo per capita in Romania, much less than the 6-7 kilo/ capita average in Europe, Masterfoods data show. "These factors push manufacturers on the market to make an effort to innovate," commented Ilinca Burlan. The pet food segment in its turn could witness significant development over the next few years.
"The pet food market in Romania primarily consists in imports precisely because it is a market that is just forming," Ilinca Burlan specified. The National Statistics Institute (INS) data referred to by Masterfoods show a 700% increase in the pet food market between 1999-2005.
The first pet food factory on the domestic market is now being built by the Nordic group, which makes and distributes consumer goods, in Buftea. Investment in this project is put at more than 5 million euros and the production facility will have a surface area of 1,600 square metres.
Masterfoods Romania's turnover for last year is estimated at over 20 million euros, according to previous statements from the company's officials
