sector analysis: food
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Made in Poland 2013
Worldwide brands Some Polish firms are making a go of establishing their products as a global brand. One company that has taken a similar path to Belvedere, owner of the Sobieski vodka brand (which hired Bruce Willis as a spokesperson), is Foodcare. The company sells its flagship product, energy drink Black, using Mike Tyson’s image on the can and in commercials. The company exports its products to 38 countries, including Mexico to China. Maspex Wadowice Group sells its products – mostly juices under their Kubuś and Tymbark brand – to nearly 50 countries; 35 percent of its revenue comes from export. Polish products are also popular in some rather exotic markets. For example, Mongolians love Polish pickles, jams and preserves, and Polish honey is a delicacy in the Middle East. v
worth of products (an 11.2 percent rise compared to 2011). That included mostly fish and fish-related products (€540 million), meat and poultry (€285 million), as well as juices and fruit concentrates (€262 million). Second in line was the United Kingdom, were €1.3 billion worth of products was exported (a 20 percent rise compared to 2011). People in the UK bought significant amounts of Polish chocolates and confectionery (€234 million) as well as meat and poultry (€134 million). The UK market is promising for Polish products because of the growing number of Poles there who want to eat products that they are familiar with. One of the big markets that shows great potential is Russia. In 2012 it was in fourth place on the list of the biggest importers of Polish food (behind the Czech Republic), with the value of Polish food imported shooting up a whopping 30 percent y/y to nearly €1.1 billion. This was the result of Russia joining the World Trade organization, which pulled down many obstacles to Polish imports that had previously been erected due to historical and political disagreements. Many predict that the value of Polish export to Russia will continue to grow in the coming years. Russians mainly import Polish apples and pears (€226 mil-
Poland food exports Category
2012 value (in € millions)
2011 value (in € millions)
Meat and poultry
2,959
2,567
Fish and sea food
740
757
Vegetables Fruits and nuts Dairy, eggs, honey
807
761
1,052
767
1,642
1,504
Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
lion), chocolate products (€74 million) and cheese products (€70 million).
Exotic locations
But there are new, fast-growing markets, where Polish food is becoming increasingly popular – exports to Libya grew by 648 percent last year. Other Middle Eastern countries followed – in Yemen, Syria, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates Polish exports grew by 267, 145, 124 and 118 percent respectively. One of the more important markets for export outside the EU is Vietnam. Poland exports mostly fish (salmon), milk and milk-related products to the Southeast Asian country, and exports there grew by 72 percent in 2012.
International retail chains have boosted Polish food exports. Last year they exported products worth nearly €1.2 billion, according to data provided by Polish Trade and Distribution Organization. The leader is Tesco, who exported (mostly to UK) nearly €400 million. “In 600 Tesco stores in the UK, there 250 Polish products available,” said Michał Sikora, Tesco Polska spokesperson. Polish food is so popular there, that it has its own displays. Last summer to coincide with the Euro 2012 tournament, Lidl stores in Ireland had their own “Polish week.” Overall in 2012, Lidl exported over €240 million worth of Polish products to its European stores. Portuguese Jeronimo Martins, which owns discount chain Biedronka, exports many Polish products to Portugal. v