overview
On May 1, 2004, formerly Communist Poland officially entered the European Union (EU) following a 14-year transition process. Poland’s transition to a market economy began in August 1989, when the government eliminated most subsidies and price controls and opened the economy to the international market. The early years were marked by a severe recession, but positive growth resumed in 1993, and Poland spent the next 10 years in an intensive effort to prepare for EU accession. Poland is the largest agricultural producer of the new member countries, but with a farm structure dominated by small, fragmented farms, it is the most problematic for the EU. Poland has also been the largest market for U.S. agricultural and food products in Eastern Europe. The economic transition brought dramatic changes in that trade: traditionally large imports of grain and protein meal fell precipitously, while purchases of poultry and other animal products increased. With Poland’s accession to the EU, the United States will lose its poultry market in Poland, but may regain some of its former wheat market, as well as new markets for high-value products.

ERS analyzes production and trade of major commodities in Poland, the most important price and trade policies, and Poland’s transition to full implementation of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.

contents

• Basic information
• Policy
• Issues and analysis

feature
EU Enlargement: Implications for the New Member Countries, the United States, and World Trade is part I of a series of forthcoming reports on the integration of the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Newly Independent States (NIS) into global commodity markets. The report presents a medium-term forecast of the changes that EU enlargement will bring to commodity production and trade in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, as well as to the enlarged EU and U.S. and world trade.

recommended readings
A Historic Enlargement: Ten Countries Prepare to Join the European Union provides a nontechnical overview of the implications of enlargement for CEE and EU commodity markets and U.S. trade with the enlarged EU. The article points out that while accession to the EU can potentially bring higher prices for some commodities and increases in farm income, many smaller Polish farmers are apprehensive. The need to meet strict EU standards will raise production costs, and farmers unable to meet those standards will be eventually forced out of business.

U.S. -EU Food and Agricultural Comparisons provides information and analysis on a wide range of topics relating to agriculture in the United States and European Union. The chapter on EU enlargement discusses the most contentious issues that arose during negotiations between the CEEs and the EU, as well as implications for agricultural trade between the United States and the EU-25.

Livestock Sectors in the Economies of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union: Transition from Plan to Market and the Road Ahead points out that Poland, along with Hungary, has emerged as one of the more successful reformers in the region. The report identifies factors contributing to Poland's relative success in this sphere, but also points out institutional bottlenecks that continue to prevent Poland's livestock sector from reaching its potential. Model results point to potential trade and investment opportunities, but the report emphasizes that this potential depends on the successful implementation of institutional and policy reforms.

See all recommended readings...

Recommended data products
Production, Supply, and Distribution (PS&D) contains official USDA data on production, supply, and distribution of agricultural commodities for the United States and major importing and exporting countries. The database provides projections for the coming year and historical data for more than 200 countries and major crop, livestock, fishery, and forest products.

Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States (FATUS) provides U.S. agricultural exports and imports, volume and value, by country, by commodity, and by calendar year, fiscal year, and month, for varying periods, such as 1935 to the present or 1989 to the present. Updated monthly or annually.

WTO Agricultural Trade Policy Commitments Database contains data on implementation of trade policy commitments by WTO member countries. Data on domestic support, export subsidies, and tariffs are organized for comparison across countries. This queriable database offers various options for viewing and downloading data.

Agricultural Market Access Database (AMAD) is a publicly available information tool for analyzing WTO market access issues in agriculture. It contains data and information for WTO member countries, including tariff schedules, tariff bindings, applied tariff rates, country notifications to the WTO, import quantities, and other data useful in tariff analysis.

recent research developments
The Europe, Africa, and Middle East (EAME) Branch recently completed an analysis of the implications of EU enlargement for Polish agriculture, agricultural production and trade in the enlarged EU, and U.S. agricultural trade with a larger EU. During 2004-05, the EAME Branch will continue to monitor Poland’s adjustment to membership in the EU, as well as implications of CAP reform. In the process, EAME and other ERS analysts will be revising and updating the models used in the analysis. Particular attention will be paid to improvements in beef and dairy equations of the models. See the EU accession issues page for further discussion. Contact Nancy Cochrane.

related briefing rooms
Hungary
European Union
Russia
Ukraine
Agricultural baseline projections

related links
USDA Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) home page contains reports produced by the Agricultural Attache in Warsaw.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Central and Eastern Europe Business Information Center provides background information on Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries for U.S. companies interested in trade and investment in the region.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars: East European Studies Program sponsors lectures, noontime discussions, and special conferences on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

See all related links...

for more information, contact: Nancy Cochrane
web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov
page updated: July 12, 2004