IAFE predicts Polish fish exports to rise

The amount of fish caught and processed in Poland could increase by as much as 7 percent, year-on-year, according to a report released by the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics (IAFE). “Due to low labour costs, we have become the largest (EU) producer of smoked salmon,” the IAFE’s Krzysztof Hryszko recently told Rzeczpospolita. In 2015, according to the IAFE, revenues from exports of fish totalled PLN 1.6 billion. The forecasted increase implies that this figure will exceed PLN 1.7 billion in 2016. The most significant fish species for export in Poland are salmon and rainbow trout, with the biggest export markets being, currently, Germany, France and Italy. According to Eurofish, a consultancy that specializes in promoting aquatic exports and production, the Polish fishing industry employed over 12,000 people in 2013.