Pernod Ricard: Business world needs realistic economic forecasts

Tudor Furir, general manager of spirits importer Pernod Ricard Romania, the local subsidiary of the French group of the same name, says the business world needs realistic economic forecasts because any deviation has an immediate impact on the business.
"Every business plan starts from macroeconomic forecasts, which are taken from banks, the National Commission for Economic Forecasting. On a market in recession for instance you can grow if you grab market share from the competition. The Government has to understand that accurate, realistic forecasts are needed," Furir told Ziarul Financiar in an interview.
The statements of the head of Pernod Ricard Romania come in the context where the economic progressions recorded in the last two years have been far from the targets announced by the authorities and the IMF. In 2009 forecasts went from a 2.5% increase to a 4% decline, but in reality GDP fell by 7.1%. The latest estimates reveal that the economy shrank by 1.3%. For this year, the forecast of the IMF and of the Romanian authorities points to a 1.5% growth. Most analysts expect growth of between 0.5 and 2%.