Polish apple exports in the second half of 2015 were significantly lower than in the same period a year earlier, mostly as a result of a large reduction of sales to non-EU countries. Exports to EU countries also decreased, although only slightly," reports Anna Kitala, expert analyst of the agricultural market at BGZ BNP Paribas.
"According to the data available, in the period between July and November 2015, Polish apple exports exceeded 148 thousand tonnes, which was 30 percent less than a year earlier, with a drop of about 64 thousand tonnes (Eurostat). Sales to third markets fell much more, by as much as 61 percent. Thus, the share of non-EU countries as recipients of Polish apples fell to 26 percent, compared to 47 percent in 2014 and an average of 60 percent over the last 5 years" said Anna Kitala.
She added that, during the aforementioned period, one of the most significant non-EU importers of Polish apples was Belarus; however, compared to the same period in 2014, Belarus' purchases decreased by as much as 63 percent. For its part, Kazakhstan imported 8.8 thousand tonnes of the fruit, which is about 41 percent less than a year earlier.
"The export of Polish apples to the EU between July and November 2015 decreased by 3 percent, down to slightly less than 110 thousand tonnes. The biggest client in the EU, like a year earlier, was Germany, which purchased approximately 25.5 thousand tonnes of the fruit. However, compared to the previous year, Germany has reduced its purchases by half. The following positions in the ranking were for Latvia and Lithuania, which respectively imported 16.1 and 15.9 thousand tonnes of Polish apples, i.e. increases of about 240 percent and 81 percent."
She stressed that the export of Polish apples in the second half of the year is usually small, accounting for approximately 25 percent of the exports during the entire season; thus, the fact that the export of these fruits was 30 percent between July and November 2015 may not be representative of what will happen with foreign sales in the coming months, even though it is likely that exports will be lower this season than in the previous one.
