Retail turnover in Romania (excluding trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles) increased 13.7 percent in the first five months of this year versus the same period of 2020, according to the raw data of the Romanian National Institute of Statistics (INS) published last week.
The increase was mainly due to non-food products, for which sales increased 23.2 percent, while the retail trade of motor fuels increased 13.8 percent and the sales of food, beverages and tobacco increased 4.6 percent.
After the seasonal and calendar adjustments, the overall increase of retail turnover in the first five months of 2021 was 11.5 percent. [Editor’s note: We should not forget that, at least, one of the reasons behind the double-digit growth is the lower base of the first five months of 2020, when the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic started.]
The INS raw data show that in May 2021, the volume of turnover in retail trade (excluding trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles) registered a jump of 18.3 percent, compared to the same month of the previous year. Following the seasonal and calendar adjustments, the growth in May 2021 was even higher: 22 percent. The rise came from the following subcategories: retail trade of motor fuels (+32.7 percent), sales of non-food products (+25.3 percent) and sales of food, beverages and tobacco (+8.6 percent).
If comparing the retail trade (excluding trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles) of May 2021 to April 2021, according to the raw data, a 2 percent decrease was registered, but after the seasonal and calendar adjustments, a 2.4 percent volume increase was recorded. (agerpres)
Title image is an illustration (Photo: pixabay.com)
