Polish chocolate is conquering the world
Poland is already the third player in the European Union when it comes to chocolate exports (with a result of 295 000 tons of chocolate - Eurostat data). Global corporations produce sweets in our country, but scattered Polish companies are also playing an increasingly important role.
Perhaps a bit surprising, but Europe - although it does not produce the most important raw material of chocolate, the cocoa bean - is the largest producer and exporter of chocolate in the world.
Unrivaled in chocolate exports is Germany, whose production capacity is also supported by a huge domestic market. Germany sends as much as 680 000 tons of chocolate to the world and alone accounts for 28 % of EU exports. In second place is the Netherlands, which has a 13 % share of European exports and shipped 322 000 of chocolate sweets in 2022. Poland has a 12 % market share.
Bank Pekao's food market expert Grzegorz Rykaczewski points out that Poland's important advantage is still price competitiveness against other large producers, which supports the pace of development of our exports.
Poland sends mainly to the EU: our top 5 chocolate bars buyers are Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. As for chocolates, the situation is similar, the key importers of Polish chocolate are: Germany, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Romania.
Outside the EU, the most important for Poland is Great Britain (15 % of chocolate bars exports and as much as 27 % of chocolates). Previously, Ukraine and Russia were important markets, but after Russia's attack on Ukraine, exports to these markets fell sharply. Instead, sales to Turkey or the US increased.
Source: Rzeczpospolita