Vincon: wine exports will go up 20%

Wine producer Vincon Vrancea, one of the major players in the industry, has budgeted an over 20% increase in exports this year, after last year’s exports accounted for around 5% of turnover. This advance will be sustained by the company’s entry onto new markets, especially EU markets. “The year 2007 was a difficult year for Vincon Vrancea, a year which, on the one hand, started with the massive surge of imports, after Romania joined the EU, and, on the other hand, a year when the company lost an important brand, Milcov. However, we ended 2007 with a 6% rise against 2006, after turnover reached 35 million euros,” said Dan Ghejan, sales and marketing manager of Vincon. For 2008, the producer budgeted turnover worth around 40 million-euros, up 14% more on 2007, above the wine market’s growth rate, estimated at 7-8%. Investments conducted by Vincon last year amounted to around 4 million euros, which went into vineyard reconversion and restructuring. Further investments will be made to improve winemaking technology, with the first step being the acquisition of a new line of production,” added Ghejan.