Romania lagging behind in EU in terms of households expenditure on eating-out

In 2018, Romania's households allocated only 1.9 percent of their total consumption expenditure for catering services, i.e. restaurants, cafes, bars and tea houses, the lowest percentage among the member states and three times less than the European Union average of 7 percent, according to the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) data. Overall, the EU households spent over 600 billion euro (equivalent to 3.8 percent of the EU Gross Domestic Product-GDP) on eating-out. The share of household expenditure devoted to catering services was largest in Ireland (14.4 percent), Spain (13.0 percent), Malta (12.6 percent) and Greece (12.4 percent). At the opposite pole, the lowest share was recorded in Romania (1.9 percent), Poland (3.0 percent) and Lithuania (3.4 percent). Between 2008 and 2018, the share of total household expenditure on catering services increased in most EU member states, except for four countries: Romania, Spain, Slovakia and the UK. The Eurostat data also showed that Romania is the member state which registered the largest decrease in expenses on catering services, from 2.9 percent in 2008 to 1.9 percent in 2018, meaning a decrease of 1 percentage point. AGERPRES (RO - author: Constantin Balaban, editor: Oana Tilica; EN - editor: Rodica State)

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