Poland: agricultural news week 47
In our agrinews you can read about onions production and goose meat in Poland. Further some info about unfair contractual provisions for farmers and negative opinion of Poles on sugar tax. Have a nice week(end)!
Production and export data of onions in Poland
The production of onions in Poland accounts for over 13.5% of the total cultivation area of onions in the EU and about 8.3% of the onion harvest in the EU. Polish exports constitute 2.5% of the global onion exports and gives Poland the 9th export position in the world.
In 2019, onions were grown in Poland on an area of 25,2 thousand hectares with an average yield of 21.2 t / ha. The total harvest was 535.4 thousand tons. For comparison, in 2019 the average yield for the entire EU was 34.7 t / ha, i.e. it was almost 40% higher than in Poland.
According to the September estimates of the Central Statistical Office, in 2020 the production of onions in Poland is estimated at approx. 580 thousand tons, which is over 8% more than in previous year. Many manufacturers say they are satisfied with the quality and size of onions harvested this year.
In 2019, 138.7 thousand tons of onions for 93.1 million EUR were exported from Poland. The main foreign market for Polish onions is the United Kingdom (for many years already), with a 33% share in export. The Netherlands is in second place, to which in 2019 Poland exported 34.5 thousand tons of onions for EUR 23.8 million (25.6% of total exports of onions from Poland). France closes the podium with a 9.7% share in exports (13.5 thousand tons for EUR 9 million). Important recipients are also Belgium and Germany, which receive 6.6% of Polish exports (11.7 thousand tons for EUR 6.1 million) and 6.1% (8.9 thousand tons for EUR 5.7 million) respectively. With most of the countries, except for the Netherlands, Greece and Russia, Poland has a positive trade balance in the onion market, although in recent years we have observed high increases in imports from Ukraine, Austria and Turkey.
Source: Based on the analysis of the BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A.
60% of Poles have a negative opinion about the sugar tax
Only a quarter of Poles believe that the new tax will help to fight obesity and alcoholism. 60% surveyed Poles view it negatively. 50% of Poles believe that the tax will improve the budget situation, and that its cost will be covered by producers and consumers. On the other hand, every fifth respondent declares that he will limit the consumption of sweetened beverages, and almost half of them say that they will change their drinking habits by replacing them with those with a lower sugar content. In turn, 31% do not want to make any changes.
Six out of ten Poles have a negative opinion on the introduction of the sugar tax. Only 25% believes that this will result in a decrease in childhood obesity. In the case of adults, expectations of positive results are even lower - only 19% agrees that the new regulations will reduce obesity among adult Poles.
Source: Portal Spożywczy.pl
Goose meat in the EU comes very often from Poland
Poland is one of the most important producers of goose meat in the EU according to the National Agricultural Support Center. In years 2015–2019, Polish entrepreneurs exported 17-22 thousand tons of goose meat, mainly to Germany. In recent years, there has been a dynamic increase in the number of geese in Poland. As noted by Deputy Director General of the National Agricultural Support Center, "the growing production of goose in Poland results from the continuing export demand and the increasing popularity of this meat among Polish consumers, who appreciate its taste, health and dietary qualities". Polish goose meat is sold to almost all EU countries, but exports to these countries so far are much smaller, 90% of export of Polish goose meat goes to Germany.
Intermarche charged for unfair contractual provisions with farmers
The Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection in Poland (UOKiK) presented charges against the company SCA PR Polska, responsible within the capital group for purchases in the Intermarche network. An entrepreneur may unfairly use his contractual advantage over suppliers of agri-food products. The procedure is the result of previous analyzes of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection in the field of practices related to the use of contractual advantage by nearly 100 largest entities in the agri-food industry (see also our previous article https://www.agroberichtenbuitenland.nl/actueel/nieuws/2020/08/21/poland-brief-agricultural-news-week-34-2020) . According to UOKiK, thanks to this intervention, most entrepreneurs paid the outstanding money to suppliers for a total amount of more than half a billion zlotys, and removed the questioned provisions from commercial policies and concluded contracts.
One of the entrepreneurs who did not pay their outstanding liabilities is SCA PR Polska (SCA) - a company responsible for purchases in the Intermarche network, which was accused of unfair use of contractual advantage. The findings of UIKiK show that the entrepreneur could use his negotiating position towards suppliers of agri-food products. Firstly, there are significant delays in payments towards them, which can reach even several million zlotys. Secondly, in the event of a discrepancy in the price or quantity of the goods on the invoice issued, the company does not pay the suppliers for the entire invoiced goods until the situation is clarified. In the opinion of UOKiK, this practice is inconsistent with good practice, because the entity's liability for the undisputed part should be settled within the payment deadline. Reservations are also raised by the long-term clarification of discrepancies in some cases, which resulted in unjustified extension of payment terms. It happened that it lasted from a few to several months, and in extreme cases almost two years. Extending the maturity date can be a form of credit for SCA where it has already received the products and can sell them. This action is unfavorable for suppliers of agri-food products to Intermarche stores. Lack of timely payment exposes them to loss of financial liquidity and significantly increases the risk of bankruptcy. “Our role is to defend suppliers of retail chains so that they receive payment for their deliveries on time”, says Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. There is a penalty of up to 3% of the entrepreneur's annual turnover for the unfair use of contractual advantage.
Source: https://www.uokik.gov.pl/