Geese production in Poland
Poland is one of the largest producers of geese in the European Union.
The domestic population of geese is subject to annual changes and ranges from 0.9 million head to 1.3 million head. Geese produced in Poland are intended mainly for consumption purposes. Of economic importance are also goose down and feathers, which are used as a filler with excellent thermal properties.
In Poland, the dominant breed of goose is the White Kołuda Goose, accounting for more than 90% of the national population of geese and is the result of the work conducted by the National Research Institute of Animal Production in Kołuda Wielka. This breed is characterised by very good weight gains, high resistance to diseases, low fat content and excellent taste. In 2021, in regional terms, the production of geese was concentrated mainly in the
- Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship (146.5 thousand head),
- Podlaskie Voivodeship (142.4 thousand head),
- Łódzkie Voivodeship (120 thousand head) and
- Wielkopolskie Voivodeship (118.3 thousand head).
The total share of those four regions in the national population of geese was 59%. The interest in the production of goose meat in Poland results from the continuing export demand and from the growing popularity of this meat among Polish consumers, appreciating its taste, health promoting and dietary values.
Goose meat, when compared to other meat species, is characterised by favourable proportions of fatty acids, including omega-3 and omega-6 which are so important for our health. Goose meat contains a lot of protein, which is composed of all exogenous amino acids which the human body cannot synthesise on its own. This meat is a source of vitamins – from group B, vitamins A and E and many minerals necessary for the proper functioning of the body. Geese are valued by consumers, which translates into the export demand for this type of meat. In the years 2012–2021, the volume of foreign sale of goose meat by domestic entrepreneurs ranged from 16 to 21 thousand tonnes (in product weight).
In the period of eleven months 2022, the export of goose meat was lower than the year ago. From January to November 2022 domestic entrepreneurs sold 12.5 thousand tonnes of goose meat abroad, when compared to 15.5 thousand tonnes in the same period of 2021. The majority of goose meat is exported by Poland to the European Union countries. Invariably, for many years, the major customer of this meat has been Germany. In 2021, 12.1 thousand tonnes of Polish goose meat with a value of EUR 63 million were sold to the German market, which accounted for 74% of the volume and 86% of the export revenues of this product range. Much smaller customers of Polish goose meat were:
- Hong Kong (1.4 thousand tonnes, EUR 2.3 million),
- France (1.3 thousand tonnes, EUR 3.3 million),
- the Czech Republic (0.5 thousand tonnes, EUR 2.0 million) and
- the United Kingdom (0.4 thousand tonnes,EUR 0.9 million).
The import of goose meat to Poland is low. In the years 2012–2021, it ranged from 22 tonnes to 513 tonnes and virtually was of no importance in the trade balance.