Romanian youngsters, aged between 18 and 24, spend 17 times more on alcohol than on culture, a recent study shows. This group spent RON 70 (EUR 15) every month on alcohol, while only RON 4 (less than 1 euro) on culture. Romania is in 5th place among those European countries where youngsters consume alcoholic drinks excessively.
The study shows that this group is willing to pay the most for alcoholic beverages, but the youngsters still consider several criteria when buying such products. The first criterion is the price, followed by the brand and then advertisements. The young people in the study, in general, prefer beer, but those living in urban areas consume cocktails as well.
The money spent on alcohol seems immense when compared with that spent on culture – only 4 RON per month for this age group. Marius Luican, the leader of the study told digi24.ro that less than 1 percent of the Romanian budget goes to culture, be it books, cinema tickets or anything else.
According to the study, the most consumed alcoholic beverage in Romania is beer, preferred by one third of consumers. However, in the last five years, the market for spirited drinks has exploded and reached EUR 700 million. Luican pointed out that 50-60 percent of spirited drinks are sold non-taxed, which means that alcohol consumption is in fact much higher than the official numbers.
Every year, 500 million liters of wine are produced in Romania, making it the sixth biggest wine producer in the European Union. In addition, more than 1.8 billion liters of beer are made in Romanian factories, putting the country in 9th place for this measure in the EU.
Title image: The young people prefer beer, but those living in urban areas consume cocktails. Photo: egeszsegkalauz.hu
