Poland and China sign deal to enable Polish poultry meat exports

“I am glad that Polish high-quality products will soon reach China​,” Yufeng said in a ministry statement. “Reaching this agreement will present an opportunity for Chinese consumers to gain broader knowledge of Polish quality products​.”

The Chinese authorities imposed a ban on imports of Polish poultry in 2016 amid concerns over the outbreaks of avian flu that were reported at various farms across the country. The following year, Poland was given the status of a country free of the disease, paving the way for the re-opening of Polish poultry meat exports to China.

Prior to the ban, in 2016, Polish poultry meat producers exported 12,400 tonnes (t) to China, with an estimated value of about PLN 100 million (€23m). In 2015, the country’s poultry meat sales to the Chinese market totalled about 10,600t, according to figures from the Warsaw-based National Poultry Council - Chamber of Commerce (KRD-IG) association.

Agreements to facilitate export sales​

As part of the meeting, which took place in Poland’s capital Warsaw, the parties signed two protocols. The first document is related to inspections, quarantines and veterinary sanitary requirements for the frozen poultry meat that is to be exported by Polish companies to the Chinese market. The second protocol is related to quarantine and sanitary requirements related to exports of Polish fish and seafood products to China.

“Today’s talks and the signing of documents marks the conclusion of the work that was carried out by a number of persons, and it will allow us to increase our exports to China​,” Ardanowski said.

The latest initiative has been welcomed by the representatives of Poland’s poultry meat industry.

“The Polish government is supporting our efforts to have the Chinese market re-opened for Polish poultry meat, and this represents major help for us, producers, in our effort to re-enter this key Asian market​,” Łukasz Dominiak, general director of KRD-IG, said in a statement. 

The Chinese and Polish authorities have been negotiating on the agreement since the beginning of 2018, according to information from KRD-IG.

Ardanowski was appointed to head the country’s Ministry of Agriculture last month, replacing Krzysztof Jurgiel. In addition to his government post, the new minister is also an MP for the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.

Set up in March 1998 and based in Warsaw, KRD-IG said it represented the interests of more than 80 entities. The association’s members are responsible for about 70% of Poland’s poultry meat production, and some 80% of the country’s poultry meat processing activities, as indicated by figures from KRD-IG.