Poland shipped US$196.5 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2016, up by 43.8% since 2009 when the Great Recession kicked in and up by 1% from 2015 to 2016.
Poland’s top 10 exports accounted for 59.5% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Based on statistics from the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook Database, Poland’s total Gross Domestic Product amounted to $1.052 trillion as of October 2016. Therefore, exports accounts for about 18.7% of total Polish economic output.
From a continental perspective, 87.6% of Polish exports by value are delivered to other European countries while 6.3% are sold to Asian importers. Poland ships another 3.4% worth of goods to North American clients with 1.3% going to Africa.
Given Poland’s population of 38.5 million people, its total $196.5 billion in 2016 exports translates to roughly $5,100 for every resident in that country.
Poland’s unemployment rate was 8.6 as of January 2017 down from 10.3% in February 2016, according to Trading Economics.
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Polish global shipments during 2016. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Poland.
- Machinery including computers: US$25.8 billion (13.1% of total exports)
- Vehicles : $24 billion (12.2%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $22.5 billion (11.5%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefab buildings: $11.8 billion (6%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $9.2 billion (4.7%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $5.9 billion (3%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $5 billion (2.6%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $4.6 billion (2.3%)
- Meat: $4.3 billion (2.2%)
- Paper, paper items: $3.9 billion (2%)
Meat was the fastest-growing among the top 10 export categories, up 86.3% in value for the 7-year period starting in 2009. This increase in value was led by poultry and, to a lesser extent, beef. Sales of pork declined.
In second place for improving export sales was the plastics category which gained 69.9%.
Polish rubber and rubber items posted the third-fastest gain in value up 57%.
The following types of Polish product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports is the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services. Overall, Poland posted a $7.9 billion trade surplus in 2016–a significant improvement from the -$12.9 billion trade deficit during 2009.
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefab buildings: US$9.1 billion (Up by 52.1% since 2009)
- Vehicles : $5.2 billion (Down by -33.5%)
- Meat: $2.8 billion (Up by 242.2%)
- Wood: $2.5 billion (Up by 54.7%)
- Machinery including computers: $2.2 billion (Down by -176.4%)
- Ships, boats: $1.6 billion (Up by 37.4%)
- Cereal/milk preparations: $1.4 billion (Up by 230.8%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $1.4 billion (Up by 32.5%)
- Copper: $1.3 billion (Down by -24.9%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $1.3 billion (Up by 126%)
Poland has highly positive net exports in the international trade of chairs, mattresses, prefabricated buildings and lighting-related goods. In turn, these cashflows indicate Poland’s strong competitive advantages under the furniture, lighting and signs product category.
Below are exports from Poland that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Poland’s goods trail Polish importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$6.8 billion (Down by -31.8% since 2009)
- Iron, steel: -$3.2 billion (Up by 50.1%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$2.6 billion (Down by -23.3%)
- Organic chemicals: -$2.2 billion (Up by 64.8%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$2.1 billion (Down by -23.9%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$1.3 billion (Down by -64.1%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$1.2 billion (Up by 3071.3%)
- Aluminum: -$920.6 million (Up by 61.1%)
- Other chemical goods: -$721.4 million (Down by -56.1%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: -$719.1 million (Down by -5.4%)
Poland has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for fossil fuel especially crude oil.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Poland’s competitive disadvantages in the international energy market, but also represent key opportunities for Poland to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations particularly alternative energy sources.
Polish Export Companies
Seven corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000 for 2015. Below is a sample of the major Polish companies that Forbes included:
- Pgnig Group (oil, gas)
- KGHM Polska Miedz (diversified metals, mining)
- PKN Orlen (oil, gas)
Global trade intelligence firm Zepol mentions the following companies as examples of Polish export companies:
- Cimir Poland (seats, furniture parts)
- Nexter Automotive Poland S P Zoo (steering mechanisms, synchronous belts, goods transportation vehicles)
- Radiatym Bogdar Tymkiewicz (iron and stainless steel fittings, frozen fish fillets, palmitic/stearic acid)
- Tristone Flowtech Poland (tubes/pipes/hoses, latex, rubber transmission belts)