Some 20 UK companies and 57 Polish firms attended the first British Polish AgroFood Forum in Warsaw. The event, which took place on 23 November and was organised by the British Polish Chamber of Commerce, brought together companies in the fruit and vegetable industry, as well as those in the flowers, meat, confectionery and bakery sectors.

“It’s been a good event,” said Tim Niedermeier of Fresh World. “Interesting and informative.”

Damian Kozlowski of Warsaw-based fruit company, Agro Alians, agreed: “We’ve made some contacts so hopefully it will lead somewhere.”

A series of seminar events aimed at UK companies ran in parallel to a conference programme in Polish aimed at Polish food producers, processors and marketers interested in doing business in Britain.

Subjects that were tackled included: investment and EU aid, greenfield and brownfield opportunities, logistics and sourcing food from Poland.

Poland already ships a small range of fruit and vegetables to the UK, including blueberries, tomatoes and topfruit. Flower and berry producers and exporters also attended the event, with the hope of finding UK contacts.

The changing face of the Polish retail industry also came under scrutiny. Tesco is the biggest British investor in Poland and last year exported 8,000 tonnes of Polish fresh produce, including 7,000 tonnes of tomatoes, to the UK.

With Tesco and Sainsbury’s representatives both attending the event, it seems the UK retail sector is keen to realise Poland’s potential - both as a producer and a market in its own right.

Topics