Polish exports of agri-food products will grow by about 10 percent in 2014, Agriculture Minister Stanislaw Kalemba said on Wednesday.
"In 2014 we will maintain a higher pace of agri-food export growth than the economy's overall exports. I think food exports this year could grow by some 10 percent," Kalemba told reporters.
"It is hard to predict the balance of trade for the whole year. If we managed to maintain the surplus growth rate at 30 percent, it would be a great success. 2013 was a good year for Polish food exporters. Such a result will be hard to repeat, but I believe the balance will improve," the minister added.
The Central Statistical Office (GUS) reported that agri-food exports rose to 19.96 billion euros (27 billion U.S. dollars) in 2013, up 11.5 percent year-on-year. The balance of trade in this segment stood at 5.74 billion euros, up 32 percent from 2012.
The minister believed that the exchange rate of PLN, the Polish currency, will not pose a threat to Poland's food exports.
"The (zloty) exchange rate is favorable for exporters. I do not foresee any big changes in the exchange rate," Kalemba said.
Germany was the key importer of Polish agri-food products. The total value of Polish agri-food exports to Germany exceeded 4.5 billion euros, up almost 16 percent on the 2012 levels.
Top importers of Polish food products also include Britain (1.5 billion euros) and Russia (1.2 billion euros).
