Sale of imported chocolate rose 8% in first 10 months of 2007

Local chocolate products similarly lost some of their market share. Romanian chocolate product sales in January-October 2007 covered some 58.8 percent of the market, compared to 67.4 percent year-on-year.

Milk chocolate is the top seller in terms of value, at 86.2 percent, followed by white chocolate, at 7.8 percent, and dark chocolate, at 4.4 percent.

The local chocolate market is estimated to be worth some €120 million annually. Main producers are Kraft Foods Romania, Heidi Chocolat Suisse, Kandia-Excelent and Supreme Chocolat.

Romania is among the European countries with the lowest chocolate consumption. Studies show Romanians eat an annual 1.9 kilograms of chocolate per capita, while the European leader on this segment, Switzerland, registers an annual consumption of 11 kg per capita.