A EUR 350,000 DEAL "BIOlogistic", common denominator for "BIO Markt Retail Group" and "Natura Land"

Cosmina Capalău

"BIO Markt Retail Group" of Timi oara yesterday announced in a press conference, that they have taken over the operations of one of the main Romanian organic foodstuffs producers, - "Natura Land", thus forming the largest importer and distributor of organic products in Romania - "BIOlogistic".

Officials of the two companies involved in the merger said that, following this deal, "BIO Markt Retail Group" will take over the customers, suppliers, brands, recipes, products and other assets of "Natura Land", but not the company itself.

Cristian Oneţiu, General Manager of "BIO Markt Retail Group", said: "We have come to the conclusion that together, these two partners will be able to better develop the market for organic products then if they were to work separately, so we are happy to have concluded this EUR 350,000 deal, which will be beneficial to buyers of organic products all across Romania". Mr. Radu Panait, General Manager of "Natura Land", who became a minority shareholder of "BIO Markt Group" and a development manager in the new company, said: "We are very optimistic about "BIOlogistic", and we estimate a 20% increase in turnover in the first year alone".

At the time of its takeover, "BIO Markt Retail Group" had a turnover of around EUR 1.5 million, whereas "Natura Land""s turnover was EUR 1 million.

Organic products - less than 1% of the Romanian market

Whereas in other countries of the European Union, organic products have a 6-8% market share, in Romania the latter is below 1%. "BIOlogistic" officials say that currently, over 80% of the organic products on the market are imported, with the remaining 20% being produced domestically. This situation is caused by the fact that even though our country has a large agricultural potential, producers are wary because of the costs that organic farming involves. On the other hand, "foreigners are aware of the Romanian potential - they are buy the raw resources from us and sell us the products at a higher price", Mr. Panait said. He added that "there are not enough food processors in our country, we need to develop the market, but not just by importing. Romanian farmers need to start producing themselves, especially as we have the necessary raw materials", he concluded, mentioning that Romania"s exports are currently ten times lower than those of Austria.

Mr. Oneţiu added that "people are beginning to see the difference between BIO products and the regular ones. A business in this market segment would become profitable in 4-5 years", he concluded.