Poland brings high quality foods to the Indagra Food Fair

Cornelia Angelescu

Poland will present products bearing the PDZ label at the Indagra Food fair. Products bearing this label are certified "high quality" and are part of a program by the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development called "Discover good foods".

Some of the companies that attended the fair are: Maxtop (Polish traditional foods producer), Polmlek Group (Swiss cheese and dairy products maker), JBG - 2 Sp.Z (maker of professional refrigeration units), Odra SA (sweets and halva producer) etc.

Officials of the Polish Embassy emphasized that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development supports the traditional processing of foods, and it has featured Polish foods in various international fairs in order to promote them all over the world, and in particular to promote the "Discover good foods" program.

Even though 2009 is expected to be marked by the world crisis and by a sizeable increase in unemployment, Polish Embassy officials said that they estimate Poland"s GDP will increase 3.7% (MF), as against the IMF"s forecast of -0%, and the inflation will remain at 3.3%.

During the press conference at Indagra Food & Drink 2009, Halina Golebicka, head of the trade and investment department of the Polish Embassy, said that the Polish economy has been on an upwards trend since its accession in the European Union. Even though economic growth has slowed down, the annual GDP grew 4.8%.

In the last five years, Poland"s investments in Romania have increased. Over 500 Polish companies had incorporated in Romania by the end of 2008. Some of the larger Polish companies which have invested in Romania include Maspex-La Festa, Can Pack, Asseco, Ciech, Porta KMI, Cersanit, Barlinek etc.

Food processing and agriculture has evolved significantly in Poland. As a result of support received by farmers, following the tough negotiations between Polish officials and EU institutions, farming output and exports of agricultural produce increased significantly (from 4 to 11.3 billion Euros),the infrastructure has been improved and rural households and processing industry have undergone modernization.

Poland"s exports in Romania amounted to EUR 201.9 million and included pork, poultry and beef, pasta, oatmeal, apples, onions, frozen fruit and vegetables, eggs etc, In turn Romania"s exports to Poland amounted to EUR 25.1 million.