In 2015, a drop has been registered in the volume of vegetables exported, with cabbage being the most notably affected, as most of it was shipped to Russia before the introduction of the embargo, said Marzena Trajer, Director of Analysis and Programming of the Agricultural Market Agency.
In 2014, the country shipped 750 thousand tonnes of vegetables (including mushrooms) worth 602 million Euro; however, in the period from January to September this year, the export of fresh vegetables has amounted to 512 thousand tonnes worth 428 million Euro, which is a 13% decline, reported Marzena Trajer. She added that the EU market received 411 thousand tonnes of fresh vegetables, of which the largest quantities went to Germany (63 thousand tonnes), the UK (59 thousand tonnes) and the CIS countries, which received a total of 90 thousand tonnes, with Belarus accounting for 78 thousand tonnes.
The most exported vegetables have been onions, tomatoes and cabbage. In the period from January to September 2015, foreign sales of onions decreased by 12 percent. "We exported 85 thousand tonnes of onions, of which the EU market received 77 thousand tonnes. Onions were shipped mainly to the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Belarus," commented the director of the Office of Analysis and Programming.
She added there was also a drop in the volume and revenues generated from the export of tomatoes. Most of the shipments this year went to Belarus, which imported 23 thousand tonnes, while Spain, the UK and the Czech Republic purchased 6-7 thousand tonnes.
Meanwhile, foreign sales of white and red cabbage dropped by 16 percent and the revenue generated fell by 11 million Euro. In the period from January to September 2015, the main recipients of Polish cabbages were Belarus, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia and Romania, said Marzena Trajer.
