Mihai Lungu, the former Agriculture Ministry state secretary, has returned to charcuterie producer Gourmet – the company he created in the early ’90s, after supervising the sugar industry and pork meat production for the past two years.
In fact, Lungu returned after having sold the last 10% stake he still owned in Gourmet. #leadend#
“I will begin my activity at Gourmet on September 1. We will define a strategy for the next two-three years, as well as the customer relations and the projects. I have just sold my shares, but I will be managing the company,” Lungu told Ziarul Financiar at the end of last week. However, he would not disclose the amount of money for which he sold his shares. The buyer was the main shareholder, an Austrian investor.
While Lungu’s return was deemed as a re-launch signal inside the company, it may also lead to the resurrection of an older “beef” on the meat market.
“While I was a state secretary, I took part in making some decisions that have not been to the liking of certain people. By coming back, I will get involved in the Romanian Meat Association, but only as a member, though I lost some of the popularity I used to enjoy a couple of years ago,” Lungu said.
While he was a state secretary at the Agriculture Ministry – between 2001 and last spring (when he resigned), Lungu voted for introducing custom duties for meat imports for the depressed areas. The cattle breeders in Romania had repeatedly asked for this measure to be enforced.