C/A deficit down to 6.2%, exports up 7.4%, trade deficit at $15.9 billion

Poland's current account deficit in 2000 reached 6.2% of GDP, while in 1999 it amounted to 7.5%, according to a government announcement on Friday. It was released in the wake of official GDP figures, and indicated that the current account deficit, once the Achilles heel of the Polish economy, had improved more than expected. According to the newest data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS), in the period between January to November 2000 exports increased by more than 15%, amounting to $28.8 billion compared to the same period in 1999. Imports grew by 7.4%, totaling $44.7 billion, leaving the trade deficit at $15.9 billion, about $700 million lower than in 1999. Polish exports grew quickly due to strong growth, now already past its peak, in the U.S. and the European Union. “We are reaching the limits of what we can export,” said Finance Minister advisor Stanislaw Gomulka. (Gazeta Wyborcza, Jan. 27-28, p. 1, 25; Reuters) M.M.