Polish food may go to Asia

Poland should search for new food markets outside Europe, say officials, according to fair organizers and advisors quoted by Puls Biznesu on Thursday. The desired destination would be the Far East. Polish farmers should take advantage of the Russian embargo, knowing that the eastern market for fruits and vegetables is lost, and intensify exports to Asian countries such as China, Burma, Vietnam or Indonesia, experts say. The exports value of the embargoed products that were Russia-oriented is USD 1 billion, with Ukraine-oriented exports noting a decrease of 24 percent in the last seven months, according to Elżbieta Bodio, deputy president of the Department of Promotion and Bilateral Cooperation of the Polish Ministry of Economy. Currently, Poland exports whey to Indonesia and starch to Vietnam, therefore Polish entrepreneurs should consider those countries to be their aim in the future. Others are Malaysia, Thailand and Korea. According to former Polish ambassador in Burma, Thailand and the Philippines Bogdan Góralczyk, China may be a proper target market for Poland, mainly because of the alteration of that country’s development model. Poland’s Ministry of Economy plans introducing a new program for businesses that would guarantee participation in fairs, seminars and conferences. Different sectors in Asian countries could utilize Polish food, e.g. growing tourism, gastronomy or hotel business.