Exports among the lowest in the region thanks to little government support

The role of exports as a factor accelerating the economy seems to diminish every year in Poland. According to the Ministry of Economy, two-thirds of Polish exporters find the cost of export loans too high. Commercial banks treat export businesses the same as any other enterprise, without taking into consideration the specific problems of conducting business in foreign markets. Likewise the system of export loan insurance has not developed sufficiently. Only a small percentage of exporters use it. Elsewhere in the region, up to 80% of export transactions are signed on credit terms. In Poland, the state spends less than $10 million on export promotion, five times less than Hungary. Exports per capita in Poland amounted to $710 in 1999. Among Central European countries only Romania exported less per capita than Poland. Exports constitute the main source of revenues of only 6.4% of Polish companies. The Polish Chamber of Commerce is organizing a conference in which exporters and politicians will discuss ways to rejuvenate Polish exports. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p.2)