FinMin Citu: Consumption in Romania looks good given the circumstances

Consumption in Romania looks good, given the circumstances, and to keep it that way, in an economy that contracts by 4% this year, at the level of an increase by 4% in 2019, is ok for the time being, Finance Minister Florin Citu said on Wednesday.

"The average net income on in Romania this year increased in August from August 2019 by 7.5%. At the same time, if we look at unemployment, compared with its level in the 2009 crisis, we are not there. Unemployment has not risen that much. We look at the number of contracts and again that has not happened. Furloughed people have returned to work and I see that reflected in how many people have been paid furlough money and then for how many people we have paid the 41.5% of their pay. Consumption looks good, given the circumstances. We have to keep in mind that we are going through the hardest period of the last hundred years and with the limited resources we had we managed to keep the consumption at the level of last year. Keeping consumption up in an economy that contracts by 4%, let's say, this year, at the level of an economy that increased by 4%, last year, I say it is ok, for the time being," Citu told the annual conference of the Romanian Brewers Association.

The Romanian Brewers Association organised on Wednesday the annual event of the local beer industry under the slogan "Beer honours Romania".