By Grzegorz Osiecki
Polish exports remain one of the main engines of economic recovery and GDP growth in the country
New data not only from Poland but also from abroad show continued strong export growth, which serves as a motor for the Polish economy. According to estimates by the National Chamber of Commerce, exports totaled over 24 billion euros in March 2021, an increase of 12.9 percent compared to February and a growth of 25.8 percent compared to the previous year.
Good results can also be seen in the data from the German statistical office; according to their data for March. Poland was the third largest exporter after Germany, just behind China and the Netherlands, while it overtook the United States.
Previously, the data for 2020 showed that Poland was in fourth place behind the USA in the general ranking of countries from which Germany imports the most goods. However, in the first three months of 2021, US exports to Germany fell 11 percent compared to 2020, while Polish exports rose 15 percent, proving that Poland’s strong position is consolidating.
Poland was the third largest exporter after Germany, just behind China and the Netherlands, while it overtook the United States.
The coronavirus crisis surprisingly helped Polish exporters. A year ago, global trade was frozen due to restrictions. Questions have been raised about how supply chains will be reshaped after the pandemic and which nations and companies would benefit most from it. Today much data suggests that Poland is one of the beneficiaries of this process.
At least that’s what the economists at Credit Agricole Bank believe. They found that in the last few quarters there has been a geographical realignment of the production process by global European companies in order to increase the security of the supply chains.
“The realignment will benefit the Polish companies that have increased their sales to existing and new customers, for example by partially assuming the role of component and material suppliers for companies based in China,” said the economists.
One of the effects of this process is seen in the increasing exports to Germany. The good situation of Polish exports after the pandemic thus creates a good starting position for the recovery of the entire economy.
The recession in 2020 did not have a negative impact on exports, as exports grew by 2.8 percent year-on-year in Polish zloty and amounted to 237.5 billion euros, while imports amounted to 225.5 billion euros. The balance was very positive, as the surplus was almost € 12 billion. One of the factors that favored the international expansion of Polish companies was the weakening of the exchange rate of the Polish zloty.
Source: Forsal.pl / UME