Abstract:

Confectionery products are foods with special sensory characteristics and high energy value. The domestic market for confectionery products is on the rise, due to the change in Romanian consumption habits, the increase of local competition and the international trends. The paper intends to present the main features specific to the national market in the European context and to analyse the sector from the concentration viewpoint. The research results have shown that the sector is dominated by 20 large companies, which accumulate almost entirely the profits of the sector, earn more than 25% of profitable market sales and provide salaries of over 15% of total employees. Except for the big producers, more than 90% of the Romanian confectionery companies have less than 10 employees and ended the year without profit or loss. Whereas the survey has highlighted a high level of market concentration, we still forecast the increase in market shares of large manufacturers and the drop of the small companies’ number.