The purpose of the activity was to increase visibility of the U.S. products available to the local market by means of presentations directly to distributors and HRI sector end-users.
The FAS office in Bucharest has identified US seafood and wines, as holding significant opportunity for expanding sales in the Romanian market.
Although Romania’s seafood consumption is limited due to low purchasing power, U.S. exports to Romania have steadily grown over the past several years. In 2012, U.S. exports to Romania recorded a notable jump with total frozen fish and seafood increasing 36 percent versus 2011 trade. The U.S. is the leading supplier in the luxury category of live fish (Live Lobster). With consumer preference for fish species found in lower supply on the market (i.e., lobsters) and the overall improvement of the country’s economy, U.S. seafood is positioned quite favorably to excel on the Romanian market.
This marketing initiative was essential for highlighting the current opportunity for U.S. seafood products by expanding awareness of local buyers of the large variety of U.S. fish species and its packaging to consumers.
FAS Bucharest identified good market opportunities for California wineries in Romania, which has a long tradition of winemaking. The wine tasting promotional events organized by our office in 2010 and 2011, proved to be the key to increasing awareness of the U.S. wines in Romania. Despite the present worldwide economic situation, the recent statistic data provided by National Statistics office show that U.S. imports went up from 170 HL in 2010 to 606 HL in 2011 and 540 HL for 11 months of 2012, representing an increase of 356 percent in 2011 and almost the same estimate for the entire 2012. This marketing proposal was essential for consolidating our past efforts and for continuing to expand the Romanian market for U.S. wines.
