BROMSGROVE, UNITED KINGDOM — For the first time, volume sales of bottled water in Eastern Europe exceeded those of carbonated soft drinks ("carbonates"), says a justdrinks.com article that was prepared by market research company Euromonitor International.

There were 12.8 billion liters of bottled water consumed in the region last year, compared with 12.6 billion liters of carbonates.

The report also says bottled water will continue to outperform carbonates in the region for the next five years by a projected 23 percent — a total consumption of 18.6 billion liters annually by 2012.

Per-person consumption of bottled water in Eastern Europe is expected to increase to 56.7 liters by 2012, an increase from 2007’s 38.5 liters.

According to the report, Ukraine showed the most growth in bottled water consumption, up 15.7 percent in 2007.

Other markets covered in the report include Russia, with a consumption of 3.1 billion liters of bottled water in 2007; Poland, with 2.2 billion liters; Romania, with 1.7 billion liters; and the Czech Republic, with 1 billion liters.

The report states that the rapid expansion of bottled water in Eastern Europe is due primarily to the growth of a young, evolving “consumer-culture increasingly craving Western-style products.”

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