Good prospects for snail sales

By Karol Chlipalski

This year the country will produce more than 1,200 tons of snails, according to Leszek Molas, president of Las Skwierzyna, a company specializing in game collection and export.

Even though this year's snail harvest is not yet over, propitious spring weather indicates that output will be particularly fruitful. Snail producers can be bullish about wholesale trade because of a weak year for snails in Hungary, which is Poland's main competitor in snail exports, Molas said.

The main destination for the country's snail exports is France, which accounts for more than 90% of the total, although exports also go to Switzerland, Italy and Belgium.

Molas, who also serves as the head of the Burgundy Snail Producers Association, wouldn't reveal how much French restaurateurs are paying Polish producers per snail, but he estimates that total exports amount to about €1.5 million (zł. 6.5 million) per year. According to the French Chamber of Commerce in Warsaw, French restaurateurs usually do not reveal to their clients the origin of their snails.

Snails are collected throughout Poland mainly in April and May. Molas said that the regions particularly fertile in snails are those that have calcium-rich limestone, which is one of the elements of snail shells. Such regions can be found in all parts of the country.

Collecting snails is a lifeline for many unemployed people in rural areas, who get less than zł. 0.80 per kilogram of snails. Companies like Las Skwierzyna then process the snails, removing the shells and cutting out the uneatable parts of the mollusk.

"Snail processing is very time-consuming; all operations must be done manually," Molas said.

Burgundy snails enjoy partial protection from the environment ministry, with licenses for snail processing provided by voivodship offices. The regulations prohibit the collection of snail species whose shells measure less than three centimeters in diameter.

"Collected snails are measured with a sieve which has holes all the same size; those that pass through are reintroduced to nature," Molas said.

This year snail production was allowed in all voivodships for the first time.

Molas is confident about the future of the snail business, as Polish snails enjoy high esteem among the delicacy's connoisseurs. He believes that even though prices are decreasing annually due to growing competition on the market, the value of snail exports will probably increase by 30% once the country joins the European Union.

"Until now Polish producers had to limit themselves to semi-processed products," Molas said, adding that he expects major producers to invest in new facilities when duties for processed foodstuffs are lifted, raising employment in the sector.

Of the country's total snail exports, processed meat accounts for about 80% while live snails make up the rest. Companies deliver the product directly to their clients in France and other countries.

"The domestic snail market is weak (with) only a few hundred kilograms sold yearly in the country," Molas said.