LITHUANIA: Retail trade volume up 8.8% in 2011
27.01.2012, 14:21In 2011, Lithuania's retail trade sector posted a much awaited trade volume recovery of 8.8% after two contraction years of -22% in 2009 and -7% in 2010.
The total retail trade volume last year reached LTL 24.2bn.
Monthly trade volumes began to rise from the beginning of 2011 but the growth rates only went double-digit last August and stayed there for the rest of the year. During the last three months growth rates averaged 12%.
These high rates were mainly maintained by non-food retail where the trade volume rose by nearly 15% in 2011.
At the same time, food retail volumes only managed to advance 2.5% during the year as the recovery in the sector started much later, in mid-2011.