Abstract:

The aim of the study was to analyse and assess changes in production and in foreign trade in milk and its products in Poland. The analyses showed that the stock of dairy cows in Poland in the considered period was strongly negatively correlated with the milk yield. Despite the declining number of dairy cows, the amount of milk delivered is systematically increasing. In the period 2000-2017, the number of dairy cows in Poland decreased by 29%, while their milk yield increased by over 62%. In the analysed years, milk purchase increased by 72.3%, while production by 16%. The observed increase in exports of Polish dairy products has been stopped, among others by the Russian embargo. The largest recipient of dairy products from Poland is Germany, as well as their largest supplier. Since 2014, the trade coverage ratio (TC) has been decreasing both in Polish exchange with the EU-15 and with the world. The index of intra-industry trade (GL) showed a rising tendency. The trade in dairy products in Poland is dominated by vertical exchange with low-priced products. Poland exports mostly cheap dairy products, i.e. butter, cheese and curd. In external trade in Polish dairy products, the share of horizontal exchange is decreasing.