Pet food is a critical export commodity in Poland, says economic think tank

The Polish Economic Institute (PIE) concluded that pet food accounted for 0.5% of the country’s global exports and 4% in the agri-food sector.

“Pet food is one of the most important commodity groups in Polish exports,” notes a PIE spokesperson.

Polish pet food exports brought in €1.9 billion ($2B) in 2023. Dog and cat food alone totaled €1.6 billion ($1.48B), representing 76% of the volume of all pet food exports.

According to PIE, Poland exported cat and dog food to 76 countries. The majority of exports went to Germany (34%), followed by the UK (6.9%), Italy (5.4%), France and Czech Republic (both 5.3%) and Romania (4.6%).

Between January and August, the value of dog and cat food exports rose by around 15% compared to the same period in 2022 primarily due to inflation.

Good prospects in China

According to data from the International Trade Center (ITC), Poland was the 5th largest exporter of pet food globally in 2022, with a market share of 7.6%.

Research from the economic think tank makes China one of Polish pet food manufacturers’ most important markets to watch.

According to PIE, the opening of export relations between Poland and the Asian country in June 2023 is expected to have a positive impact on the industry.

Market on the grow

According to GfK’s Consumer Panel Services, the Polish pet food market was worth PLN 4,3 billion ($1.06B/€980M) in the 12 months ending August 2023. The market is expected to increase between 5% and 7% annually.

Some relevant investments happened in the local Polish pet industry. Austrian company Coveris confirmed the expansion of its business in the Central and Eastern European region through the acquisition of Polish packaging business D.K. Lamin.

London-based fresh dog food company Butternut Box acquired Polish fresh dog food firm PsiBufet in April 2023 to expand its footprint further into Central and Eastern Europe.