WARSAW: Poland’s export sales of pork, beef and poultry meat reported an increase in the first three months of this year, while imports of pork and beef meat were also on the rise in this period, according to the state-run Agricultural Market Agency (ARR).
In the first quarter of 2016, Polish pork meat industry players managed to export some 104,000 tonnes of pork meat which represented an increase of some 5 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier. From January to March 2016, some 170,000 tonnes of pork meat were imported to Poland, up 3 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier.
Pork meat dominates Poland’s meat market with an average Pole estimated to consume about 39.5 kg of pork meat per year, according to the Warsaw-based Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics (IERiGZ). From January to March 2016, local beef meat exporters managed to raise their sales to foreign markets by some 2 per cent compared with the first quarter of a year earlier, totaling 84,000 tonnes. This was accompanied by a significant increase in beef meat imports which rose by 18 per cent to a total of 6,000 tonnes.
This, however, indicates that beef meat sales in Poland remain at a relatively low level, despite efforts by the government. Poland’s beef consumption is currently 1.5 kg per person, according to the Polish Association of Beef Cattle Breeders (PZPBM). In the first three months of 2016, Polish companies exported 78,000 tonnes of beef meat over the domestic consumption, compared with 77,000 tonnes in the same period in 2015, the state-run agency said in its latest analysis.
Poland’s poultry meat industry players were also able to report improved export sales for the first quarter of this year. From January to March 2016, the country’s poultry meat exports totalled 221,000 tonnes, an increase of 13 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier. This said, imports of poultry meat by the Polish market were down 8 per cent in the first three months of 2016 to 8,000 tonnes. Last year, Poland’s annual consumption of poultry meat was estimated at some 28 kg per capita, according to the IERiGZ.
