Exports grow faster than imports for first time since May 2018 - min

In January this year Polish exports grew faster than imports for the first time since May 2018, Entrepreneurship and Technology Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz said on Tuesday commenting data released earlier by the Central Statistical Office (GUS).

As GUS announced on Tuesday, Poland's foreign trade deficit amounted to EUR 100 million after January 2019.

Exports totalled EUR 18.1 billion and were up by 2.5 percent year on year, while imports fell by 0.1 percent year-on-year to EUR 18.2 billion.

January's results translated into a reduction of the trade deficit, the entrepreneurship and technology minister pointed out, adding that the government "is consistently working to strengthen exports", as evidenced by the efforts of the Polish Trade and Investment Agency.

"We encourage our entrepreneurs to look for new markets, because though we have a large internal market, they need to develop their businesses, and thus the Polish economy," she explained.

According to GUS data, in January, Poland's exports increased the most to such countries as the Netherlands (by almost 12 pct or EUR 100 mln, the United Kingdom (by 6.2 pct or EUR 70 mln), Russia ( about 14.5 pct or EUR 64 mln) and the USA (by 13.3 pct or EUR 61 mln).

As Emilewicz noted, in January this year the biggest growth was recorded in the exports of electrical machines and equipment, their parts and accessories (by 8.4 pct or EUR 160 mln), boilers, machinery and mechanical equipment and parts thereof (by 3.5 pct, or EUR 85 mln), ships, boats, vessels (by about 83 pct, or EUR 78 mln) as well as copper and copper products (by 30 pct, or EUR 58 mln).