Poland, brief agricultural news week 17, 2020

Poles tend to buy more Polish origin products during pandemic

Consumers are more likely to pay attention to the origin of products and are more likely to choose national ones. In this way, they want to help Polish companies and support the economy. This tendency is also due to the belief in greater safety of domestic products - results from poll conducted by ARC Rynek i Opinia for the Polish ice cream manufacturer, PPL Koral.
For several years Poles have been eager to buy Polish products, pay attention to the origin of products and services, but the situation before and during the coronavirus pandemic has a slightly different scale.
According to a study carried out in April for the Koral brand by ARC Rynek i Opinia, before the outbreak of a pandemic, about half of Poles during their everyday purchases paid attention to the origin of products, and consumers over 45 years of age were particularly sensitive to this issue, among whom this percentage reached 60 percent.
In turn, half of the respondents previously not focusing of the origin of products, declared that after closing schools, restaurants and most shops in shopping malls and introducing restrictions on staying away from home, they pay more attention to the country of origin of products than before. They are more often women (57 percent) than men (45 percent).

It seems that the action “Buy Polish”, announced by the Polish President and the government in March 2020, is working.

Source: Agropolska.pl

Who may benefit from the Pandemic?

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic, the value of Polish companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) has dropped by PLN100bn (vide the next newes). However, there are exceptions to the rule, as some companies are expected to benefit from the crisis.

Among them are:

• CD Projekt (computer and video games),
• Dino (food retailer),
• Neuca (pharmaceutical wholesaler),
• PGNiG (state-controlled gas and oil company ),
• Energa (state-controlled energy enterprise) and
• Grupa Azoty (state-controlled enterprise for chemicals and mineral fertilisers).

While the pandemic has had a negative impact on the retail sector as such, food retailers have noted a 27% increase in sales since February. This trend was observed in Poland as well as other countries. What is more, it is expected that the easing of restrictions from 20 April will be beneficial for the sector.

Dino Polska retail chain has proved resistant to the coronavirus crisis. Experts praise its successful business model, as the price of its shares is reaching record high levels. The main risk faced by Dino Polska is the expected reduction in household incomes, which would have a negative impact on consumption and sales in retail chains. A drop in consumer demand was already observed in March. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Polish government may give up on introducing the retail tax, which would be beneficial for the business. Rating for the business remains stable.

Grupa Azoty has benefited from the low price of gas, which is essential in the production of fertilisers. While the price of gas dropped as a result of the pandemic, demand for fertilisers remains high.

Source: PNB Economic Review

The Polish economy has already lost PLN 79.3 billion

The Federation of Polish Entrepreneurs (FPP) and the Confederation of Lewiatan indicate that efficient and effective actions are needed to defrost the economy. The costs of the current method of fighting coronavirus, although necessary to bear in the early stages of the epidemic, will ruin Polish economy in the long run.
The organizations jointly launched a counter for losses caused by restrictions associated with the fight against COVID-19 which cause the loss of jobs by a growing number of people and an increase in health problems not related to coronavirus. FPP and Lewiatan estimate that from March 16 to April 20, the Polish economy has already lost PLN 79.3 billion due to restrictions on economic and social activity. As much as PLN 23.8 billion was in industry, PLN 20.4 billion in trade, PLN 5.5 billion in construction, and PLN 29.7 billion in other service industries. Only so far the Polish economy has lost 3.2% of GDP.

According to these organizations, stopping the lockdown in careful manner will protect the Polish economy against major losses and maintain the stability of many Polish enterprises employing millions of employees. While the early freezing of economic activity in connection with the COVID-19 epidemic has been received in many companies with understanding, now the dominant impression is that real support comes with a delay. What is even worse: the prospects for returning to normal activity are vague. Low demand for goods and services is accompanied by uncertainty. Postponing the defrosting of the economy has a very specific financial dimension. Every day in current state means over PLN 2 billion of unprocessed GDP. Half a month of restrictions in force exceeds the value of the investment pillar of the anti-crisis shield.

Source: dlahandlu.pl