Growing steadily

In recent years, Poland has achieved significant progress with regard to pet food exports and is currently among the world’s top five exporters. According to a recent report by the Polish Economic Institute, Poland was 5th on the list of global exporters of dog and cat food in 2022, with a share of around 6 per cent. Last year, Polish dog and cat food was delivered to 76 countries, mainly to EU members such as Germany and Italy.

According to the report, pet food is one of the most important commodity groups in Polish exports at present. Bringing in 1.9 bn euros in 2022, it accounted for 0.5 per cent of the value of all Polish exports and 4 per cent of agri-food exports . Experts noted that in the years 2013-2022, exports increased by 461 per cent in value, and by 180 per cent in volume terms. According to analysts, exports are continuing to grow and there is a high possibility that these figures will be exceeded.  

The Polish market has traditionally been a focus of interest for some global pet food producers. One such company is Purina, which has significantly strengthened its position in the local market in recent years. As Dominilk Olech, an official spokesman for Purina Poland, said in an exclusive interview, 2023 was another good year for the company, with significant growth in sales and market share. Olech comments: “In Poland we have seen growth in this category for many years – not only in value but also in volume terms. For 2023 we estimate growth at a level of 25 per cent, reaching almost PLN 8 bn (1.84 bn euros). The market will stay in growth mode.” According to him, there are two reasons for this. One is the ever-increasing number of pets in Poland, as confirmed by official statistics, which currently indicate the presence of a cat or dog in every second household in Poland. The growth in the market is also due to increasing calorific coverage for cats and dogs (which is still below the level of western countries, however). As Olech also states, although the pet food category presents constant growth in a difficult period of inflation, a change in shopper behaviour has taken place, with more and more customers looking for attractive prices for their favourite products, including via the e-commerce channel.  Local producers also expect further growth in the Polish pet food market in years to come, with the greatest demand being seen for products with higher nutritional value.  

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