Company representatives say they are waiting for a concentration of the market, considering that small players will be forced to close their business.
“We have every chance of meeting the target set for this year, increasing net sales by 10 percent and market share up to 15 percent, so as to enter the competition for the leading position on the meat product market,” Caroli’s Vice President, Andrew Taylor, told Business Standard.
“We are talking about a fragmented market where the top ten players supply 60 percent of demand. At present, there are 250 companies which offer over 20,000 products. I estimate that part of the small players will have to close their businesses by the beginning of next year, which will led to a concentration of the market,” Taylor added.
The company official said he is optimistic about 2009, considering that Caroli registered a rise in sales in the first three months of this year, on a market marked by a slight decrease.
Caroli ended 2008 with €67.3 million in net sales and a 19 percent annual increase in the volume of sales. The Romanian cold meats market amounts to some 230,000 tons per year with a value exceeding €1 billion. Main competitors are Cris-Tim, Caroli Foods, Aldis Calarasi, and Campofrio.
