account for 5.5% of that total, which is a small proportion.
One of the causes is the quotas imposed by the Romanian
government. Last year the total quantity of beer that was
imported was 250,000 hectolitres. Those imports also in
clude the standard beers brewed in surrounding countries
like Hungary and Slovakia.
Last year the quota was not used up, but Dan Vlasceanu
definitely expects that the limit will be exceeded this year.
In view of the high barley prices in Europe, the local brew
eries will have to raise their prices, which means that the
price difference between a local beer and an imported beer
will narrow. And, the smaller the price differential, the
more the consumer will be inclined to choose the more
expensive import beers.
Proprietor Mr. Radu
of the Mimosa Bar,
a major Heinro
customer on the
Black Sea coast.
FLUCTUATIONS
Romania has a continental climate, and that implies that
the winters in Romania are severe and prolonged.
Temperatures of minus 20°C are normal and the country is
often covered in a thick blanket of snow. By contrast, the
summers are dry and hot, with temperatures climbing to
30°C. So it's not surprising that beer consumption is subject
to fluctuations. In the winter months it falls sharply com
pared to the summer.
Those ups and downs in beer consumption apply only
to the local beers and not to Heineken. For various reasons,
including its high price, the Dutch beer is seen as a beer for
special occasions. And, of course, such occasions also occur
in the winter. During that period of the year, too, the
people who can afford to drink a Heineken Beer like to show
that to those around them.
Perhaps it is because the Romanians are of Latin origin,
but wine-drinking culture plays an important role in
Romania. That interest in wine means that Romania has a
significantly lower per capita beer consumption by com
parison with its neighbours. Per capita consumption in
Romania is forty litres a year, as against 77 litres in Hungary
and 60 litres in Bulgaria.
KEG BEER
Heineken Beer is available in Romania in the 33 cl and 64 cl
bottle, the 33 cl can and in the 30 litre keg. Keg beer is be
coming ever more popular in Romania and there is also a
growing demand for Heineken on draught. That means
extra efforts in training and educating the personnel of the
distributors. They are in fact the people who have to clean
the dispenser installations at regular intervals and have to
find solutions in the event of malfunctions. Heinro, which
handles distribution itself within Bucharest, also employs
two technicians who are responsible for looking after the
draught beer operation. They can be paged by bleeper 24
hours a day and can be on the spot within one hour to solve
any problem.
By mid-1996 Heinro had forty dispenser units in opera
tion, of which thirty were in Bucharest. The others can be
found in bars and discos along the beaches of the Black Sea, I
Romania's most important tourist area. In the summer
many thousands of Romanians flock to the coast to cool
down and spend their holidays in one of the many seaside h
resorts. For Heinro the most important holiday resorts are
Nepute and Mamaia. Tourists from Western Europe are by
far in the minority. Last year an estimated 2,000 Western
tourists spent their holidays in the Black Sea resorts.
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