Polish cider sales on the rise

Despite the fact that Poland is Europe’s main exporter of apples, orchard owners and alcohol producers were traditionally hesitant to produce cider. However, Polish demand for cider has been rising dramatically in the past few years. Two years ago, Poles drank 2 million liters of cider; this year the number is expected to rise to 10 million. Tomasz Kolecki, a Polish master sommelier, told inwestycje.pl that cider has the greatest growth prospects of any alcoholic beverage on the Polish market, and consumption will most likely rise to 30-50 million liters in the next several years. Only several years ago, Poles could only find cider abroad, in Great Britain, Spain or France. Now, Polish restaurants and bars are constantly increasing their cider selections to meet growing demand. Once found only in specialty shops, cider can now be purchased in most Polish supermarkets.