Polish manufacturer shifts to Romania
to move some of its operations to Romania in a bid to drive off an
anticipated rise in costs after accession.
La Festa, which makes the Tedi brand juice and is owned by the Maspex group, is planning to relocate part of its fruit processing facilities to Romania, which is not due to join the EU until 2007. Poland joins the EU on 1 May this year, a move that is widely thought to quickly move prices up in line with the rest of Western Europe.
La Feta has hinted that this could well be the way forward for the company to relocate facilities to non-EU states, as it is anticipated that it will become increasingly difficult for Poland produced food products to retain their competitive edge on the export market.
La Feta chairman Krzysztof Grabowski said that accession was set to change the landscape for food processors in the region, adding that for many it will be increasingly less profitable to stay profitable within markets such as Poland.
The laws governing the Central European Free Trade Agreement will remain in effect for those states not joining EU in May. As well as Romania, these countries include Bulgaria and the former Yugolslavian countries such as Serbia, Bosnia and Macedonia.
The company, which produces a diverse range of soft beverage, including several lines of fruit juice and fruit snacks, is hoping that it will be able to benefit from fixed custom duties for imports from EU countries, which are designed to help control prices for Romanian food manufacturers.
The La Festa division says it will invest in a new aseptic vegetable and processing facilities which will reduce the reliance on imports. This means that the company will only be so reliant on imports when fruits and vegetables are out of seasons in Romania, which also minimizes the risks associated with producing a seasonal foodstuff.
The company has not yet confirmed the new location of the facility.
