Poland, brief agricultural news week 36, 2019

Dutch representation at Flower Expo Poland and Green is Life

Almost 50 companies from the Netherlands have come to Warsaw to take part in the Flower Expo Poland and Green is Life fairs 2019. Export of ornamental plants  from the Netherlands to Poland is growing since several years. The growth is directly connected to the rising welfare of Poles, and, as both Poland and the Netherlands share the love for flowers, ca. 80% of cut flowers sold on the Polish market is delivered from the Netherlands. The good quality of products is only a part of success on the Polish market. The modern arrangement of bouquets also plays a crucial role in the floristry shops and allows bigger sales in the longer perspective. Therefore, the Dutch Embassy is Warsaw requested a florist master Mr Hans Zijlstra to give a flower show during the fairs. In his workshop, dedicated to Polish florists and owners of florist shops, Hans showed the latest trends in the floristry area and shared his ideas for fantastic compositions that might attract new clients. This aims at stimulating the process of professionalization of florists in Poland.

ASF in Poland

ASF outbreaks and cases in wild boars continues to occur in Poland. Chief Veterinary Officer has informed that due to the new locations of ASF outbreaks and cases in wild boars, new areas of Poland have been included to the restricted, treat, and protection zones (red, blue, and yellow zones on the map). In total, there are 45 ASF outbreaks reported until 4th of September 2019 in Poland. In comparison with the last year, when by the end of August 2018 there have been 104 outbreaks, this is a significant drop in the number of outbreaks. However, the occurrence of outbreaks moves in the direction of west and the red, blue, and yellow zones enlarge. The ASF outbreaks concern now 5 regions of Poland.

The disease is also spreading in the wild boar population, also covering new areas. The latest statement of National Association of Pig Producers highlights an increase in the number of cases in boars from year to year that leads to shrinking the ASF virus-free white zone. Whereas, the fewer number of outbreaks in pigs is recorded in 2019, no progress can be seen in fighting ASF in wild boars.

The 17th International Dairy Forum

On the 4th of September, the 17th International Dairy Forum took place in Serock, Poland. During the forum, the situation of the global, EU and Polish Dairy markets were discussed. Additionally, the forum covered topics such as sustainability, climate change, the common agricultural policy, GMO’s and the Brexit, and their impact on the dairy sector. The forum included several speakers from different European Institutions and both International and European major corporations in the dairy industry. In general, most speakers seemed quite positive on the current state of the European dairy market. When asked the question whether the dairy sector will be able to handle the next major dairy crisis, most speakers said they believed so. The population of dairy cattle in Poland increased with 2.8% between 2017 and 2018, to a total of 2.214.000  dairy cows. The average yield per cow in Poland also saw an increase and rose with 0.9% to 6258 liters per cow. Furthermore, the prices for solid milk products, exports of dairy products and the consumption of dairy products in Poland all increased between 2017 and 2018.