Food, innovation are focus areas for Poland's exports

Exports of Polish foods, innovation and investment in infrastructure via the Belt and Road Initiative are three focus areas in Poland's bilateral economic cooperation with China, according to a top diplomat for the Eastern European country.

Joanna Skoczek, Poland's consul general in Guangzhou, says her nation is one of the largest producers of meat, milk and apples in Europe, and adds, "I've no doubt food products are among those that might be interesting for our Chinese friends. There will be more companies, I hope, after the visit (by President Xi Jinping to Poland in June).

"People in South China, especially Guangdong province, are very interested in foreign food. They're ready to pay a higher price for high-quality health products."

Skoczek hopes Polish exporters will be able to sell apples, chicken feet, pork and veal to China, with chicken breast, milk and honey already available on the Chinese market.

"We did not catch up with the highly industrialized food production of Western Europe. The fact we still stick to the traditional method of production, of picking, of processing food is probably our greatest asset in the market," she says. "We have seen a slow but steady increase in trade exchanges (with China). Exports to China are 10 times smaller than exports from China to Poland. We see signs for rebalancing,"

Last year, Chinese imports to Poland stood at $14.3 billion, with Polish exports to China worth $2.7 billion, according to Chinese customs data. Trade between Poland and Guangdong reached $3.66 billion last year.

Ireneusz Ozga, a board member at Vici Polska, which sells European products, attributes the robust increase in trade to the rapidly rising purchasing power of Chinese shoppers.

"What's more important, consumer education is developing much faster, and Chinese customers are now very sophisticated," he says. "By mixing strong competencies, the great value of Polish food products and continuous observation of what the Chinese consumer wants, we can increase customer satisfaction and, as a result, sales and market share."

Metro China, a subsidiary of Germany's Metro AG, is selling 60 stock-keeping units produced or imported from Poland. Sales of Polish products, including milk, honey and vodka, grew by 45 percent year-on-year last year across its stores and the best-selling item is a Polish brand of milk, according to the company.

Jacky Kasperowicz, executive manager of RTJ Tastes Co, a Polish-invested company in Zhongshan, Guangdong, that produces ham, cold cuts and sausages for the Chinese market, expects 20 percent growth in its business in the coming years.

"The industry is still niche, and the market grows every year," he says.

On the innovation front, the Polish Center for Research and Development signed an agreement in January with WIOT Technology Group in Foshan, Guangdong. WIOT Technology, which develops and operates industrial agglomeration of new emerging industries and comprehensive service platforms, is matching Polish and Chinese companies, says company vice-president Gong Wenhuan.

The cooperation in technology is also expected to enhance the local industries in Foshan, including the upgrading of the manufacturing sector, he says, adding that his company is also working with listed Polish IT company Action.

"If you look at the Polish government's economic plan and China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), you'll see how compatible they are. They define in a very similar way the challenges in our economies," says Skoczek. "It's important to develop services, internal consumption and introduce more IT solutions, high-technologies and innovation into our economies."

The consulate general is also bridging some laboratories and medical device companies in Poland and South China to promote business links. On infrastructure, Skoczek says Poland should be perceived as a hub for central Europe, one that is "crucial for transport, distribution, logistics and service backup" via rail and maritime connections.

She says she has been telling Polish exporters that rail transport is an attractive option in shipping goods to China due to shorter delivery times, although she acknowledges that the cost is higher compared with sea transport.

A rail link already runs between Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, and Lodz in Poland.

liwenfang@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 07/02/2016 page27)