Ian Gearing, general manager of FrieslandCampina Romania, the biggest player in the dairy industry, believes there are no prospects for a consumption rebound any sooner than 2011.
"The overall economic situation will not improve considerably until late 2011. There will be another 12 tough months because I believe the economic environment will be very difficult in Romania in the following year as well. I hope I am wrong, but I wouldn't be a good manager if I weren't realistic and pragmatic," Ian Gearing states.
The 59-year old British-born manager has run FrieslandCampina since September 2008. He believes the Romanian dairy market will stagnate this year in terms of volumes and will see a small sales decline in terms of value amid the shrinking consumption and falling prices. Nevertheless, he says the market still has a long-term growth potential as the grey market will dwindle.
"It was a difficult year because of the prices and market conditions, but I believe that the fact that volumes did not rise is a temporary problem. This is only a two-year decline for the dairy market and we already have a budget for next year both for promotion and for new investment projects," explained Gearing, without speaking about the value of these projects.
He maintains the domestic subsidiary of the Dutch dairy producer has operated few personnel cuts this year and that the marketing budget earmarked for 2009 was even higher than that of 2008, with the company's portfolio expanding by over ten products. He did not provide precise figures, though.
Ian Gearing expects FrieslandCampina Romania's turnover to stagnate this year at the level of 2008, namely 125 million euros.
Ian Gearing, general manager of FrieslandCampina Romania, the biggest player in the dairy industry, believes there are no prospects for a consumption rebound any sooner than 2011. @N_
