Between January and May 2023, the value of foreign sales of agri-food products amounted to EUR 21.2 billion (PLN 99.5 billion), approx. 17% higher than in the analogous period of 2022.
Simultaneously, agri-food imports amounted to EUR 13.7 billion (PLN 64.2 billion) and were higher by 10% than the year before. A quicker pace of increase in value of exports than of imports caused a significant growth of the positive balance of foreign trade, developing at the level of EUR 7.5 billion (PLN 35.3 billion) between January and May 2023, which was higher by 33% y/y.
The increase in value of Polish food exports over the first five months of 2023 was a resultant of continued high transaction prices on the international market and the demand for products competitive in terms of both price and quality, provided by the domestic agri-food sector.
Strengthening of the zloty in relation to the euro and United States dollar, recorded between mid-February and mid-May of the current year, slightly weakened the profitability of Polish food exports, but this had no significant effect on the trade results, since the domestic currency remained relatively weak.
The growth of agri-food exports in 2023, as in the previous years, was also facilitated by indirect actions – both those undertaken by state institutions, including organization of fairs, missions and business meetings with foreign partners, and those undertaken by the agri-food industry towards improvement of the quality of exported raw materials and products as well as diversification of markets.
Despite a trend of the appreciation of the zloty in relation to major global currencies, the pace of growth of the value of agri-food imports until May 2023 was slower than in the analogous period of 2022, when it was 26%, which may be evidence of limited demand for certain imported foods.
The geographic structure of agri-food exports from Poland. As in the previous years, agri-food products were predominantly exported from Poland to the European Union market. From January to May 2023, supplies to EU-27 countries generated EUR 15.5 billion (a growth by 14%), comprising almost 3/4 of total revenues from agri-food exports.
In the exports to EU countries, the highest revenues were obtained on sales of: cigarettes (value: EUR 1.6 billion, 64 thousand tons), poultry meat (EUR 1.3 billion, 458 thousand tons), dairy products (EUR 1 billion, 542 thousand tons), bread and bakery products (EUR 820 million, 255 thousand tons), beef (EUR 757 million, 140 thousand tons), animal feed (EUR 719 million, 331 thousand tons), as well as chocolate products (EUR 587 million, 112 thousand tons).
Over the five months of 2023, the European Union countries were reached by 73% of Polish agri-food exports, in value. Exports to the EU markets are characterized by significant geographic concentration.
Germany remained the main trade partner of Poland. Exports to this country between January and May 2023 amounted to EUR 5.3 billion, 16% higher than the year before. The main products exported to Germany included cigarettes (EUR 814 million, 18.5 thousand tons), poultry meat (EUR 354 million, 115 thousand tons), animal feed (EUR 302 million, 121 thousand tons), bread and bakery products (EUR 268 million, 74 thousand tons), fish preparations (EUR 260 million, 15 thousand tons), cereal grains (mainly maize – EUR 239 million, 775 thousand tons, and wheat – EUR 198 million, 659 thousand tons), as well as chocolate and chocolate products (EUR 195 million, 34 thousand tons).
Other important recipients of Polish agri-food products included:
- the Netherlands – EUR 1.4 billion, revenues increased by 11%; the main exported goods included poultry meat (EUR 184 million, 78 thousand tons), cereal grains (predominantly maize – EUR 147 million, 535 thousand tons), cigarettes (EUR 82 million, 6.5 thousand tons), beef (EUR 76 million, 17 thousand tons), chocolate and chocolate products (EUR 53 million, 13 thousand tons), coffee (EUR 39 million, 4 thousand tons), as well as fruit and vegetable juices (EUR 39 million, 42 thousand tons), bread and bakery products (EUR 32 million, 12 thousand tons), animal feed (EUR 32 million, 12 thousand tons);
- France – EUR 1.3 billion, revenues increased by 15%; the main exported goods included poultry meat (EUR 207 million, 65 thousand tons), meat preparations (EUR 132 million, 29 thousand tons), bread and bakery products (EUR 68 million, 18 thousand tons), beef (EUR 67 million, 86 thousand tons), chocolate and chocolate products (EUR 58 million, 10 thousand tons), alcohol (EUR 55 million, 7 thousand tons), and animal feed (EUR 55 million, 21 thousand tons);
- Italy – EUR 1.0 billion, revenues increased by 15%; the main exported goods included beef (EUR 183 million, 33 thousand tons), cigarettes (EUR 158 million, 7 thousand tons), fish preparations (EUR 50 million, 3 thousand tons), as well as cheese and curd (EUR 40 million, 9 thousand tons);
- Czech Republic – almost EUR 1 billion, revenues increased by 20%; the main exported goods included poultry meat (EUR 90 million, 32.5 thousand tons), bread and bakery products (EUR 82 million, 31 thousand tons), pork (EUR 49 million, 13 thousand tons), animal feed (EUR 47 million, 21 thousand tons), cheese and curd (EUR 44 million, 10 thousand tons), cigarettes (EUR 43 million, 2 thousand tons), chocolate and chocolate products (EUR 34.5 million, 8 thousand tons), and butter (EUR 33 million, 7 thousand tons).
Total exports to the markets of the five countries mentioned above (Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, and the Czech Republic) generated a revenue of EUR 10 billion, comprising more than 48% of the value of agri-food exports.
Over the five months of 2023, agri-food products with a value of EUR 5.7 billion, higher by 25% y/y, were exported from Poland to non-EU countries. The main products exported from Poland to non-EU countries included: wheat (EUR 500 million, 1.8 million tons), dairy products (EUR 498 million, 251 thousand tons), poultry meat (EUR 385 million, 204 thousand tons), bread and bakery products (EUR 350 million, 74 thousand tons), chocolate and chocolate products (EUR 292 million, 59 thousand tons), meat preparations (EUR 242 million, 60 thousand tons), and cigarettes (EUR 240 million, 12 thousand tons).
The most significant non-EU recipients of domestic agri-food products included:
- United Kingdom – with revenues of EUR 1.7 billion, export value increased by 19%. The main exported goods were poultry meat (EUR 242 million, 68 thousand tons), meat preparations (EUR 198 million, 48 thousand tons), chocolate and chocolate products (EUR 130 million, 31 thousand tons), as well as bread and bakery products (EUR 129 million, 32 thousand tons);
- Ukraine – EUR 457 million, an increase by 36%; the main exported goods included animal feed (EUR 37 million, 22 thousand tons), cheese and curd (EUR 36 million, 7 thousand tons), chocolate and chocolate products (EUR 24 million, 6 thousand tons), tobacco products (EUR 22 million, 29 tons), meat preparations (EUR 20 million, 7 thousand tons), coffee (EUR 19 million, 4 thousand tons), as well as bread and bakery products (EUR 19 million, 5 thousand tons);
- United States – EUR 322 million, growth by 9%; the main goods exported to the USA included chocolate and chocolate products (EUR 36 million, 4 thousand tons), fish fillets (EUR 30 million, 3 thousand tons), fruit and vegetable juices (EUR 28 million, 15 thousand tons), and wheat grain (EUR 23 million, 78 thousand tons);
- Saudi Arabia – EUR 226 million, an increase by 27%; the main exported goods included cigarettes (EUR 86 million, 3 thousand tons), bread and bakery products (EUR 27 million, 4 thousand tons), cheese and curd (EUR 20 million, 4 thousand tons), and wheat (EUR 19 million, 63 thousand tons);
- Nigeria – EUR 176 million, an almost 4-fold increase; the main exported goods included wheat grain, comprising 98% of the export value (EUR 172 million, 590 thousand tons);
- Turkey – EUR 138 million, an almost 2.3-fold increase; the main exported goods included beef (EUR 49 million, 9 thousand tons), malt extract (EUR 22 million, 5 thousand tons), animal feed (EUR 16 million, 9 thousand tons);
- Israel – EUR 137 million, a drop by 11%; the main exported goods included beef (EUR 44 million, 5 thousand tons), sugar (EUR 15 million, 20 thousand tons), waters and other non-alcoholic beverages except juices (EUR 13 million, 18 thousand tons), as well as bread and bakery products (EUR 12 million, 2 thousand tons).
Commodity structure of agri-food exports from Poland
The commodity structure of agri-food exports from Poland was dominated by meat and meat preparations. Between January and May 2023, the revenues from foreign sales of meat and meat preparations were 9% higher than the year before, amounting to EUR 4.1 billion which comprised 19% of the total value of Polish agri-food exports.
The largest share in the export value of meat and meat preparations was comprised by: poultry meat (42% – EUR 1.7 billion), meat preparations (25% – EUR 1.0 billion), beef (23% – EUR 917 million), and pork (8% – EUR 334 million).
The second most valuable position, with a 15% share in the agri-food exports from Poland, was occupied by cereal grains and their preparations, with total sales increasing by 36%, to EUR 3.2 billion, in comparison with the first five months of 2022. More than 5.2 million tons of cereal grains, worth EUR 1.5 billion, were exported from Poland. In the structure of the export volume, wheat accounted for 50% (2.6 million tons, an almost threefold increase in the export volume y/y), maize – for 40% (2.1 million tons, an increase by 28%), and rye – for 3% (172 thousand tons, an increase by 24%).
Exporters would predominantly locate cereal grains on the EU market (approx. 3.3 million tons, 63% of grain exports). Simultaneously, almost 2 million tons of cereal grains were exported to non-EU countries, comprising approx. 37% of the export volume. Between January and May 2023, wheat grain was predominantly sold to Germany (659 thousand tons, 25% of exports of this grain), Nigeria (590 thousand tons, 23%), and South Africa (364 thousand tons, 14%). The main recipients of maize included Germany (775 thousand tons, 37% of export of this grain), the Netherlands (535 thousand tons, 25%), and outside the EU – the UK (141 thousand tons, 7%). The main direction of rye exports from Poland was Germany (150 thousand tons, 87% of export of this grain), in the case of barley, it was Germany as well (45 thousand tons, 54% of export of this grain) and the Netherlands (29 thousand tons, 35%).
An increase in the value of exports was recorded in most commodity groups of agri-food products. Beside the product groups mentioned above, the export value increased for: tobacco and tobacco products (by 31%, to EUR 2.2 billion), sugar and confectionery products (by 16%, to EUR 1.4 billion), fish and their preparations (by 13%, to EUR 1.2 billion), as well as vegetables and their preparations (by 22%, to EUR 1.0 billion) and fruit with their preparations (by 6%, to EUR 0.7 billion). Moreover, a higher export value was recorded for oilseeds and vegetable fats – by 14% (EUR 0.6 billion), coffee, tea and cocoa – by 15% (0.5 billion EUR), fruit and vegetable juices – by 17% (EUR 0.3 billion). A drop was experienced by the export value of dairy products (by 1% – EUR 1.5 billion) and alcohol (by 1% – EUR 0.3 billion).
