Coffee producer Strauss Romania expects to see its turnover drop by 10 percent this year compared to last year, the firm has announced. Lats year it posted EUR 80 million, in the best year for Strauss. The coffee producer hopes to reach the same level of business in two years.

The company expects Romanian consumers to buy cheaper coffee brands this year. “The quantity of consumed coffee will not drop, but the value of the products will drop, because Romanians are buying cheap coffee, which they drink at home,” said Avi Ben Baruch, the deputy general manager with Strauss Romania. Around 60 percent of the Romanians who drink coffee drink their preferred brand at home.

Baruch estimates the local coffee market to stagnate this year, to around EUR 350 million in value. “We believed 2010 will be a revival for this market, but it was not, because the Romanian market continued to drop. There is also a psychological effect of the political statements, which lead to consumers choosing cheaper products to save money,” said Avi Ben Baruch.