Exports, long a key driver of the economy, have recently experienced a slowdown. In its recent report on second-quarter economic growth, Statistics Poland (GUS) highlighted that net exports had a negative impact on overall growth. Exports increased by 3.4%, while imports grew by 5.4%, year-on-year. Net exports contributed negatively to GDP growth by 0.8 percentage points, in contrast to the positive 0.4 percentage point contribution in Q1.
Business representatives and leaders of industry organisations have discussed the outlook for Polish exports and the challenges hindering their growth. The debate ‘The Exporter’s Handbook: Polish exports: Between economic downturn and search for new markets’, organised by Rzeczpospolita at the 33rd Economic Forum in Karpacz, featured Tomasz Pawlonka, Director of the Research and Analysis Team at the Polish Bank Association and the Analytical and Research Program at the Warsaw Banking Institute; Paweł Dziekoński, Vice-President of the Board at window manufacturer Fakro; and Piotr Maciaszek, Director of the Insurance and International Cooperation Department at KUKE.
Has exporting become unprofitable?
“In most industries, the increase in minimum and average wages is not price-transferable. As wages in Western countries, against whom we aim to successfully compete, have risen by around 10% over the past three years, wages in Poland have surged by 65% in real terms. This has made many of our goods uncompetitive, or forced us to export with very narrow margins. Furthermore, a year ago the euro was valued at PLN 4.69, while now it stands at PLN 4.20,” said Paweł Dziekoński, in his explanation of why Polish exports are not seeing significant growth.
“A strong zloty certainly does not help our exporters,” admitted Piotr Maciaszek, “Business owners have shared that, despite the availability of various financial support instruments, their companies are unable to benefit from them due to low profit margins.”
That is why KUKE offers companies a range of new solutions. “For several years, we have been developing the ‘Shop in Poland’ initiative, which supports exporters in entering new markets and boosting sales in existing ones. We aim to attract not only subcontractors but also manufacturers to participate in large infrastructure projects. For instance, the construction of the Academy of Fisheries and Marine Sciences in Angola require the manufacturers of various types of building equipment. We are trying to get our companies involved,” said Piotr Maciaszek. He acknowledged that KUKE is concerned about the negative trend in goods exports, as reflected in the volumes of insured turnover. “In contrast, the investment sector is performing much better, with significant growth observed both domestically and internationally.”
