Heineken, InBev, Romaqua Group, United Romanian Breweries Bereprod (URBB) and URSUS Breweries, all members of the Romanian Brewers Association, saw beer sales rise 4.1 percent last year, with canned beer sales up 25 percent. PET makes up the bulk of beer sales in Romania, at 46 percent, followed by bottled beer, at 37.5 percent. Local brewers invested over EUR 200 million here last year, reaching EUR 950 million in total investment since their market entry.

"Romania is in the top ten European countries for beer production, with over 20 hectoliters. We expect sales to increase this year too, but at a lower rate," said Shachar Shaine, president of the Romanian Brewers Association.

The five firms within the association contributed EUR 272 million to the state budget last year. They employ 6,700 staff in 12 beer factories across the country. The average Romanian drank 93 liters of beer last year, 4 more than in 2007, which put the country among the top ten European countries in terms of beer consumption per inhabitant.