A good year for exports
One year after EU entry, it is clear the dark forecasts from last year will not materialize - talented people have not fled the country en masse and foreign products haven't wiped out Polish companies. What is more, in 2004 overall exports rose by 26 percent.
The foreign-trade balance not only improved when it comes to EU member states; it also increased with other countries, especially Russia - by as much as 88 percent. "For the first time we had a positive trade balance with such EU countries as Germany, Denmark or Great Britain. We are not likely to achieve such results when it comes to Russia, though, as we still depend on its very expensive oil and gas while our top exportation products are food and machines," said Mirosław Zieliński, Deputy Minister of Economy.
Approximately 80 percent of Polish export products are sent to the EU market, which supplies 68 percent of overall imports to Poland. Thus, the trade deficit within the common market fell from EUR 3.3 (zł.13.77) billion in 2003 to EUR 1.3 (zł.5.42) billion in 2004.
Exports have been growing for the last couple of years, which may be due not as much to Poland's EU accession but to the modernization of its export offer. The abolition of the last trading barriers that took place on joining the EU merely constituted an additional impulse for exporters. It was especially significant in the case of agricultural products such as fruit, vegetables, beef, poultry and dairy.
The foreign-trade balance not only improved when it comes to EU member states; it also increased with other countries, especially Russia - by as much as 88 percent. "For the first time we had a positive trade balance with such EU countries as Germany, Denmark or Great Britain. We are not likely to achieve such results when it comes to Russia, though, as we still depend on its very expensive oil and gas while our top exportation products are food and machines," said Mirosław Zieliński, Deputy Minister of Economy.
Approximately 80 percent of Polish export products are sent to the EU market, which supplies 68 percent of overall imports to Poland. Thus, the trade deficit within the common market fell from EUR 3.3 (zł.13.77) billion in 2003 to EUR 1.3 (zł.5.42) billion in 2004.
Exports have been growing for the last couple of years, which may be due not as much to Poland's EU accession but to the modernization of its export offer. The abolition of the last trading barriers that took place on joining the EU merely constituted an additional impulse for exporters. It was especially significant in the case of agricultural products such as fruit, vegetables, beef, poultry and dairy.
