POLAND OPENS A NEW WATERWAY TO AVOID RUSSIANCONTROLLED WATERS

Poland has opened the Vistula Split, a new waterway that allows ships to pass from the Gulf of Gdańsk to the Vistula Lagoon, a shallow reservoir on the Baltic Sea. Ships will be able to bypass the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. The opening ceremony took place on September 17, on the anniversary of the Soviet attack on Poland in 1939.

“Thanks to the Vistula Spit dug-through, Poland will gain a waterway which connects the Vistula Lagoon with the Baltic Sea and is independent of Russia. The canal will ensure Poland is safe and sovereign,” said the government in a statement cited by Money.pl.

Work on the Vistula Spit crossing began in October 2019, and the total cost is set to reach PLN 2 billion. The project’s second stage envisages the reconstruction of the existing shipping channel along the Elbląg River.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

More than one-fourth of breweries consider closure

A total of 26.6% of breweries are considering closing their operations, and 94% of breweries assess the reality of doing business as worsening, even compared to the lockdown period, according to the “Brewer Barometer” survey conducted by SW Research on behalf of the Brewing Industry Employers Association - Polish Breweries. "The new challenges that producers are now facing - rising prices, energy costs, and obstacles in obtaining raw materials –mean that despite the lifting of pandemic restrictions, the condition of breweries is not improving,” said Bartłomiej Morzycki, CEO of Polish Breweries, quoted in a statement. He noted that an increase in excise duty on beer has put additional pressure on the industry.

Auto Industry

Prices for new and used cars will fall in the coming months

The poor availability of new cars has paradoxically increased dealer margins and revenue in recent months. However, the unfavorable economic situation is likely to lead to a decline in the prices of new and used cars in the coming months, according to a report by EY Polska and DCG Dealer Consulting. Inflation, high interest rates, and the depreciation of the zloty are slowly reducing customer interest in new cars. As many as 48% of respondents believe that the decline in demand for new cars is a bigger problem than their limited availability. As a result, almost half of dealers believe new car purchase prices will decline in coming months. Only 27% of dealers expect prices to grow.

LABOR Demand for the foreign labor force to grow - Ministry

The demand for foreign labor will grow by at least a few percent or even more than 10% per annum in coming years, estimates the Ministry of Family and Social Policy (MRiPS). The highest demand is for skilled manual workers in construction, industrial machine operators, workers in some service and trade sectors, and truck drivers.

UKRAINIE Poland spent about PLN 2,200 on each refugee from Ukraine - PM’s office

Poland is estimated to have spent about PLN 2,200 on each Ukrainian refugee, said Agnieszka Ścigaj, a minister in the prime minister’s office, when discussing spending on aid for war refugees from Ukraine.

The Minister for Social Integration Agnieszka Ścigaj, who was a guest of RMF FM on Tuesday, said that since 24 February, i.e. the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, around 1.3 million refugees from Ukraine have arrived and remained in Poland.

LABOR Foreigners make up on average about 6% of employment in Poland

The government has decided to raise the minimum wage to PLN 3,490 gross from 1 January 2023, and to PLN 3,600 gross from 1 July 2023 - said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. That represents an increase of 15.9% from January and 19.6% from July on a year-on-year basis. The hourly wage is expected to be PLN 22.80 gross from 1 January 2023 and PLN 23.50 gross from 1 July 2023.

Ukraine

The majority of Ukrainian refugees learn Polish –survey

Every second Ukrainian citizen, forced to flee to Poland because of the war, is learning Polish, and every third refugee plans to study it in the near future, which indicates that they will stay in the Polish labor market longer, says a survey conducted by the Gremi Personal Analytical Centre.

According to the research summary, 52.8% of Ukrainians surveyed are already studying Polish, 35% say they intend to start learning it soon, and only 12.2% said their mother tongue is enough for them.

Ukraine

More than half of Ukrainians are not planning to leave Poland yet

Only about 22% of Ukrainian citizens staying in Poland plan to return home in the next three months. As many as 35% are ready to remain in Poland for at least a year, 25.6% want to return at the end of the war, and 17% do not plan to return in the near future, the Gremi Personal employment agency reported.

Anna Dzhobolda from Gremi Personal expects most Ukrainians to return to their homeland as soon as the danger is over. However, a significant proportion of citizens will remain abroad due to the loss of housing, low wages and poorer living conditions in the Ukraine. In her opinion, gloomy forecasts for the heating season are encouraging Ukrainians to spend the winter in Poland.

Acquisitions

Wirtualna Polska buys travel platform Szallas Group for EUR 82 million

Wirtualna Polska has bought Szallas Group, which operates the largest national travel portals for booking accommodation in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, and Croatia. The deal is worth EUR 72 million, plus net cash in the company of about EUR 10 million, as of the closing date of the transaction.

With this acquisition, Wirtualna Polska aims to create the largest tourism booking group in Central and Eastern Europe. Nocowanie.pl, Poland’s largest accommodation intermediary, is already in WP’s portfolio.

The Szallas Group currently offers 87,000 accommodation properties in five markets. Last year, customers made more than one million reservations for a total value of EUR 200 million.

Economy

BIEC expects inflation growth to slow in the autumn

Analysts from the Investment and Economic Cycles Office (BIEC) expect inflation growth to slow down in autumn, but warn that it may accelerate again at the turn of the year.

The Future Inflation Index (WPI), fell from 100.6 points in August to 99.4 points in September. This is the second consecutive decline in WPI, and is slightly stronger compared to a month ago. The index decline, however, does not mean a decline in inflation, it only points to the possibility of a slower rise in inflation.

CULTURE A Pole eats an average of 5.6 kg of chocolate sweets per year

The average Pole ate 5.6 kilograms of chocolate sweets in 2021, putting the country in fourth place after Germany, the UK, and Bulgaria, according to the "World and Polish Chocolate Market" report. Poland maintains its 4th place among the world's largest chocolate exporters.

According to Wedel's "World and Polish Chocolate Market" report, last year the average resident of Poland ate 5.6 kilograms of chocolate sweets, and by 2027 this value is expected to rise to 6.2 kilograms. First place is held by Germany, whose citizens consume 8.5 kilograms, second place by the United Kingdom (7.3 kilograms), and the third by Bulgaria (6.1 kilograms).

Transportation

Radom airport is ready to receive its first passengers in 2023

The construction of the Warsaw-Radom Airport has been completed in less than 2.5 years and will receive its first passengers next year. The facility's terminal is ready to handle 1 million passengers a year. The target will be 3 million passengers. It will take over most of the traffic from the existing Chopin airport.

It has already been announced that LOT Polish Airlines will fly from Radom airport to Rome, Copenhagen, and Paris three times a week.

The travel agency Itaka also announced the opening of seven new destinations from Radom to five countries - Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, and Turkey.

Economy

Poland's economic growth in 2023 could be around 2%Borys from PFR

Poland's economic growth in 2023 could be around 2%, and around 4.5% in 2022, the head of the Polish Development Fund (PFR), Paweł Borys, told journalists on the sidelines of the Economic Forum in Karpacz.

"Economic growth will remain positive, I assume about 2% GDP growth next year. It should not lead to an increase in unemployment. (...) Economic growth this year is expected to be around 4.5%," the PFR president said. According to Borys, Poland is not threatened by a stagflation scenario.

Corporations

Netflix opens office in Poland, looking for employees

Netflix’s hub for the Central and Eastern European region began operating in Warsaw on 5 September. Until now the Central and Eastern European region has been managed from the Amsterdam office, but the staff responsible for these 28 markets has recently moved to Warsaw, according to wirtualnemedia.pl. Netflix is looking for specialists from the entire CEE region and beyond, primarily professionals with experience in marketing and film production.

ENERGY EU Commission proposes to cut electricity consumption

The European Commission proposes to introduce an obligation to reduce electricity consumption by at least 5% during selected peak price hours as part of the emergency intervention in Europe's energy markets. Member States will be required to identify the 10% of hours with the highest expected price and reduce demand during those peak hours. The Commission also proposes that Member States aim to reduce overall electricity demand by at least 10% until 31 March 2023. According to a statement by the Commission, reducing demand at peak times would lead to a reduction of gas consumption by 1.2bcm over the winter.

Environment

Poland is among the countries most threatened by water shortages

There are currently about 100 retention reservoirs throughout Poland, and the level of this retention is 6.5%. This compares with as much as 45% in Spain, with 1,900 reservoirs. According to PGW Wody Polskie, to meet the needs of the economy and counteract the effects of drought, the level of retention in Poland should be at least twice as high. In Poland, there are about 1,800 cubic meters of water per inhabitant per year, but in periods of drought, the amount drops to as low as 1,100 cubic meters. In Europe, the average is almost three times higher, at around 5,000 cubic meters per person. Meanwhile, according to the definition adopted by the UN, the limit of "water stress," i.e. the threat of water deficit, is the threshold of 1,700 cubic meters per person.

Business

The wood industry could face declining margins in coming quarters

The wood industry in Poland is likely to face persistent cost pressure and much more difficult demand conditions, which could result in a decline in margins, according to a report by Bank Pekao. The wood industry experienced a boom last year when aggregated net profit of the sector increased by about 2.5 times compared to 2020, reaching a record PLN 4.6 billion.