Pet owners spend 40m euros a year on pet food

The market of dog and cat food will exceed 40 million euros this year, up by around 5% against last year’s figures, according to Euromonitor estimates. The over 15% growth rate of dog and cat food, that the market saw until 2005, fell by almost one third during last year, a growth rate, which will be maintained in 2007, according to Euromonitor data. However, the companies on the pet food market estimate higher increases in the next few years. “The pet food market enjoys one of the best growth prospects in Europe. If we think of the large number of pets, we can see that market growth could become increasingly larger in the next few years,” says Ilinca Burlan, corporate affairs manager of Masterfoods, the importer of the Whiskas, Pedigree, Chappi si Kitekat, Frolic, Cesar si Tsheba brands. Representatives of the European Pet Food Federation (FEDIAF) say the Romanian pet food market still has growth potential, both due to the low calory coverage, and to the increase in the population’s incomes over the next few years.