Fmcg / Diana Tudor
The pasta market is expected to advance by around 5-7% this year and reach a volume of 61,000 tonnes, according to the estimates made by the main players in the industry. However, in terms of value, the market could witness a decline or stagnate at the very best compared with the 70m euros registered in 2007, being dependent on this year's harvest.
"For the first time after several years in early 2008 the pasta market stagnated in the wake of two major factors: the 180% increase in wheat prices that pushed pasta prices above the psychological threshold, and the supply of cheap potatoes as a consumption alternative," said Alin Giurea, general manager of Pambac, which accounts for 24% of the domestic pasta market.
He added that quantitatively the market would continue to witness growth by around 7% this year, but the final value of the pasta market will depend on the quantity and quality of this year's grain.
On the other hand, Arnos representatives believe the market will follow the same upward trend both in terms of value and volume. "Growth in terms of value will be higher again, but owing to repeated price hikes. I believe we'll see important increases, particularly for products that offer the best price-quality ratio. At the same time, I believe sales of imported pasta will also surge due to the rising volume of imported pasta," stated Gere Arpad, CEO of Arnos Oradea, which ranks fourth on the domestic pasta market.
2007 was an important year in terms of acquisitions sealed on this market. Following takeovers, producers announced they had upped marketing budgets.
At the end of last year, the pasta market had a volume of 58,000 tonnes and was worth around 70 million euros, according to the data provided by the main producers. In Romania, pasta consumption revolves around 3.1-3.2 kg per capita, half the average registered in Hungary, Belgium, France and England, of 6-7 kg of pasta per capita, and three times lower than in Italy, where a single inhabitant eats around 28 kg of pasta per year.
According to a Nielsen survey, the best-selling categories in terms of volume are short pasta, with 35% of the market, closely followed by soup pasta, with 29.8%. The same categories dominate the market in terms of value, too, but soup pasta has the bigger share.
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