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Business Profile
Economy: As the largest economy in ex-Soviet eastern Europe, the fate of Poland was and is central to that of the whole region. The economic contribution of the traditionally agricultural sector declined steadily throughout the 1990s and now accounts for just three per cent of GDP; it remains an important employer, with 27 per cent of the workforce. Livestock and meat are major export earners. Rye, wheat, oats, sugar beet and potatoes are the main crops. The coal mining industry has been scaled down in recent years. The main industries are shipbuilding, textiles, steel, cement, chemicals and food processing.
With the collapse of the communist system at the end of the 1980s, Poland adopted the ‘big bang’ strategy of rapid transition to a market economy: price controls (including subsidies) were removed at a stroke; production, distribution and trade were deregulated; large parts of the economy were privatised using a voucher system; the tax and fiscal systems were overhauled; and the national currency (the Zloty) was made fully convertible. The shock of these measures and the collapse of the Comecon trading system threw the economy into temporary crisis. Yet by the mid-1990s, the economy was growing strongly. Those parts of the economy previously under state ownership – including several important industrial enterprises – have been privatised. Western approval of Poland’s economic policies has guaranteed steady financial support from the IMF and the World Bank. Poland’s foreign debt (once a serious obstacle to growth) has been steadily managed downwards. Foreign investors, including a number from the Far East, found Poland an attractive environment. Since the end of 1999 it has become apparent, however, that Poland’s boom was at an end. During 2001 and 2002, growth barely reached one per cent and unemployment, a constant problem for the Polish economy, had increased to 17 per cent. An estimated 15 per cent of the workforce now operate in the 'grey', informal economy. Several Asian countries (notably South Korea) are investing in Poland and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Poland has signed an association agreement with the EU and is due to become a full member with the next batch of ten entrants in 2004. The recent economic downturn has somewhat undermined popular acceptance of the EU – especially the large number of small farmers worried about the impact of the Common Agricultural Policy – but a majority of Poles still support membership. Poland’s main trading partners are Germany and its fellow members of the ‘Visegrad Group’ – Hungary and the Czech and Slovak Republics – who are Eastern Europe’s most advanced economies. Trade with other members of the EU, including the UK, has grown substantially.
Business: Men are expected to wear a suit and tie at business meetings. In Poland a formal approach is favoured and it is therefore advisable to give plenty of notice of an intended visit. Employees in state organisations do not take a lunch break, but they have their main meal after 1500. Office hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1600.
Commercial Information: The following organisation can offer advice: Polish Chamber of Commerce (Krajowa Izba Gospodarcza), PO Box 361, Trebacka 4, 00-074 Warsaw (tel: (22) 630 9600; fax: (22) 827 4673; e-mail: infodata@kig.pl; website: www.kig.pl).
Conferences/Conventions: The most popular conference venues are in Warsaw. Events are also hosted in Kraków, while Wroclaw, Gdansk and other towns are used occasionally.
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