Largest FMCG market, cigarettes, sees 10% volume decline

The rise in the price of cigarettes has led to an increase in the share allocated by a smoker for such expenses, from 4% to 6% of overall expenses, according to data from the National Statistics Commission, cited by the JTI manufacturer. In terms of volume, the market saw a decline in Q1, compared with the same period of 2008, which is blamed on the black market, with JTI putting the share of smuggled cigarettes at 23% of overall consumption recorded in April, compared with 18% at the end of 2008. "In the first quarter of the year, cigarette sales on the Romanian market underwent a slight decline, which was in fact recorded across the entire FMCG sector. "Sales of cheap brands are seeing the most significant declines, falling by an average 10% in the first quarter," said Gilda Lazar, Corporate Affairs and Communications Director for JTI Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia. "The tobacco industry has proven more resistant to economic shocks: smoking incidence does not fluctuate very much, irrespective of the population's economic situation, but it cannot be immune to the worldwide economic crisis," says the JTI representative.