Importing into Poland

Importing into Poland – What do you need to know?

Poland is set to grow its economy and become the seventh largest economy in Europe. Soon its GDP will match the level of Spain, Portugal, and Italy, which is definitely not bad for a country that was still under communist rule only thirty years ago. Poland has a population of 38 million, which is made up of Polish nationals, with a small percentage of the population coming from Germany, Ukraine, and Sicily. As you’ve probably guessed Warsaw is the primary business centre of the country and the most densely populated area. That said, more than half of the population live in urbanised areas of the country.

Traditionally, like most ex-communist countries, Poles have been stereotypically dubbed conservative spenders. However, as the country has been growing in wealth, the middle class and other affluent sections of Polish society have been showing a demand for luxury goods.

What is Poland importing?

Annoyingly, you can never find out what Polish consumers are importing without having business imports mixed in as well.

1. Electrical machinery, equipment: US$23.8 billion (12.6% of total imports)
2. Machinery including computers: $23.7 billion (12.5%)
3. Vehicles: $18.7 billion (9.9%)
4. Mineral fuels including oil: $11.8 billion (6.2%)
5. Plastics, plastic articles: $11.3 billion (6%)
6. Iron, steel: $6.6 billion (3.5%)
7. Pharmaceuticals: $5.5 billion (2.9%)
8. Articles of iron or steel: $4.6 billion (2.5%)
9. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $4.2 billion (2.2%)
10. Paper, paper items: $4 billion (2.1%)

Imported vehicles are the fastest growing import which has grown by just over 50% in the last seven years. In second place, imported plastics, machinery, and iron or steel are each up by 30%. The only two to drop in rankings are fuels and medical apparatus.

Let’s take a look at what luxury goods Polish consumers are importing.

1. Phone system devices including smartphones: US$3.7 billion (up 51.3%)
2. Integrated circuits/microassemblies: $2.4 billion (up 50.2%)
3. TV/radio/radar device parts: $2.4 billion (down -12.7%)
4. Unrecorded sound media: $1.6 billion (up 222.1%)
5. Insulated wire/cable: $1.3 billion (up 38.4%)
6. Lower-voltage switches, fuses: $1.2 billion (up 20.4%)
7. TV receivers/monitors/projectors: $1 billion (down -15.1%)
8. Electrical converters/power units: $1 billion (up 42.4%)
9. Electric water heaters, hair dryers: $921.1 million (up 63.8%)
10. Electric motors, generators: $811.7 million (up 69.4%)

So as you may have guessed, the main imports are electronics for consumption. Like the rest of the world, the Polish population like to have the latest devices and best TV’s as well the usual household appliances.

In business, Poland is also buying in production machinery and production materials. With Poland’s economic expansion looking bright in the next decade, now is a fantastic time to break into the market and make your brand known.

Aploq Translations can help you by localising your brand and marketing materials, as well as helping with all the legal and technical translations you might need. If you have any questions about how we can help feel free to get in touch today.

We’d like to thank World’s top Exports for helping with the figures used in this article.