Romania has the highest volume of retail trade in the EU in December of 8.5%; the increase for 2019 was 7.2%

Emea Riga
According to Eurostat, in the euro area in December 2019, compared to December 2018, the volume of retail trade increased by 3.6% for non-food products while food, drinks and tobacco decreased by 0.7% and automotive fuel by 3.7%. In EU27, retail trade volume increased by 4.0% for non-food products while food, drinks and tobacco decreased by 0.3% and automotive fuel by 2.6%.
Among Member States for which data are available, the highest yearly increases in the total retail trade volume were registered in Romania (+ 8.5%), Hungary (+ 6.1%) and Malta (+ 5.6%). The largest decreases were observed in Slovenia (-6.6%), Slovakia (-2.5%), and Finland (-1.6%).
The turnover of retail trade (excluding trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles) increased by 7.2% last year, compared to the similar period of 2018, according to data published Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
According to the INS, the evolution was due to the increase of sales of non-food products (+ 8.8%), the retail trade of motor vehicle fuels in specialized stores (+ 6.5%) and the sales of food, beverages and tobacco (+6, 0%).
The turnover of the retail trade (excluding the trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles), gross series, in December 2019, as compared to the previous month, increased by 5.8% overall due to the increases recorded in the sales of food, beverages and tobacco (+ 17.7%) and sales of non-food products (+ 2.2%). Retail trade of motor vehicle fuels in specialized stores decreased by 6.4%.
The volume of turnover in retail trade (with the exception of trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles), series adjusted according to the number of working days and seasonality, in December 2019, as compared to the previous month, rose by 0.8% overall due to increases in the retail trade of motor vehicle fuels in specialized stores (+ 2.3%), sales of food, beverages and tobacco (+ 1.3%) and sales of non-food products (+ 0.2%) .
Also, the volume of turnover in retail trade (excluding the trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles), gross series, in December 2019, compared to December 2018 increased by 9.3% due to increases in product sales. non-food (+ 11.1%), sales of food, beverages and tobacco (+ 9.4%) and retail trade of motor fuel in specialized stores (+ 5.1%).
The volume of turnover in retail trade (except trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles), series adjusted according to the number of working days and seasonality, in December 2019, compared to December 2018 increased by 8.5% due to increases in sales of non-food products (+ 9.5%), sales of food, beverages and tobacco (+ 8.1%) and the retail trade of motor vehicle fuel in specialized stores (+ 3.9%).