International trade in goods and services of Poland

Abstract

PURPOSE: The aim of the article is to examine how Poland's international trade is shaped in the context of exports and imports of goods and services in 2010–2017. Therefore, additional, detailed research questions were posed: (1) what are the basic directions of Polish exports and imports? (2) What is the balance of trade in goods? (3) What groups of goods are most often exported from Poland? (4) What Polish services are most often exported?

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The survey of an illustrative nature was conducted based on the available source literature, own research as well as statistical data and results published by research institutions. First, general national data are presented, and then data for voivodships and voivodship cities.

FINDINGS: The greatest export of Polish goods is to Germany and other European countries. It is similar in the case of Polish imports, which mainly come from: Germany, China, Russia, and other European countries. The balance of Polish trade in goods is positive with European countries, and negative with the countries of Far East Asia. The structure of trade in goods and services is very diverse. The highest values in services in 2017 were recorded for: transport services; foreign travel; telecommunications, IT and information services; refinements.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The research results can be used to manage, support, and develop international trade, both by domestic decision makers and managers in enterprises, as well as for foreign trade partners.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The conducted research contributed to the narrowing of the research gap concerning the structure of Polish foreign trade, especially in the context of groups of goods and services. This topic is taken up, despite appearances, quite rarely, usually limited to studying the directions of geographical expansion.