More than 8,600 kilometres separate Poland and Vietnam, and just such a distance must be travelled by Polish apples in order to reach the tables of Vietnamese consumers. "It's quite a challenge, but realistic to achieve; in fact, the first apples already arrived there in the autumn of last year," informs the Association of Polish Fruit-Growers.
"After the embargo, we have been doing everything within our power to make our production go to markets outside Europe. We saw such opportunities in Asian markets. Our export potential in Vietnam is estimated at 75-100 thousand tonnes," highlights Miroslaw Maliszewski, President of the Association of Polish Fruit-Growers.
The growth of exports is significant, as more than 252 tonnes were exported for three months of 2015 and in the first three months of this year shipments have already reached over 450 tonnes. It is worth noting that these apples must travel for approximately 50 days, so they need to be well-protected so that their quality cannot be challenged at destination. To this end, Polish exporters make use of ethylene pouches, which are placed inside each carton containing 18 kg of fruit.
"We have great hopes placed in Asia, especially given how other markets are quite saturated. In countries located far to the east, we see a marked increase in the wealth of consumers and a boost in fruit consumption. Furthermore, these are countries with very large populations," concludes Mr Maliszewski.
