Cereals as a component of agriculture and Polish economy Cover Image

Zboża jako składnik rolnictwa i gospodarki Polski
Cereals as a component of agriculture and Polish economy

Author(s): Franciszek Kapusta
Subject(s): Economy, Agriculture
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wrocławiu
Keywords: cereals; area; production; structure; balance; self-sufficiency

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this study was to: a) show the place and role of cereals in the Polish economy in the early twenty-first century; b) analyze changes in the area of cereal crops and their share in the structure of crops in the years 1938-2013; c) analyze trends in the size and structure of grain production in the years 1938-2013; d) perform balance of cereals and determination of Polish self-sufficiency in this product; e) characterize trends in destiny cereals; f) present state intervention in the grain market. The analysis is based on sources such as scientific publications, reports of the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics − National Research and statistical materials. The collected material was developed and interpreted using the methods: a comparison in the horizontal and vertical form, statistical form and determine the Polish self-sufficiency in grain production in terms of technical and economical Kapusta method. Cereals are an important component of agriculture and Polish economy since they are grown by 89.5% of farms, occupy almost three quarters of crop area and are an essential component of crop rotation (2013). 19.1% of global agriculture production and 35.5% of plant production and 13.1% of the agricultural commodity production and 29.1% of crop production form an important source of nutrients, the basis of the food pyramid and a basic component of food security, cereals and their derivatives are the subject of foreign trade and a source of increasing surplus in the trade balance (2012/2013 + 1 150 thousand euros). Already in pre- WWII Poland the position of grain was high, and in post-war Poland variable with a tendency to increase their role in plantings and agricultural production. Under the influence of various factors, mainly economic and natural there are changes to the total cereal cultivation area and the individual species. The universality of cereal crops makes difficulties in disseminating biological and technological progress. Although in the post-war period there was a decrease in areas planted with cereals, their collections are on the rise; also changes its structure in favor of more intensive species at a higher value in use (wheat, barley, triticale, corn). The production is realized in order to satisfy human needs, and therefore a good measure of the production of goods per 1 inhabitant, in this case the grain. From the pre-war years to modern years grain production has increased from 404 kg per capita to 739 kg. In the balance sheet of cereals at the beginning of the twenty-first century, we have two different situations; relatively stable internal consumption is accompanied by high volatility on the production side (changes in acreage and yields), which generates the need for imports in the years of crop failure. In Poland, cereals consumed (average of the years 2000 / 01-2012 / 13, for 13 years) are as follows: grazing − 60.5%, consumption − 22.2%, sowing (reproduction) − 7.2%, industrial processing − 4.5%, other (loss defects) − 3.7%. At the same time Poland exported 15,676 thousand tons of grain, and imported 16, 530 thousand tones, i.e. 854 thousand tons more. In subsequent years, however, there were changing trends in the balance of foreign trade in grain. In the period of Polish membership in the European Union we observe the increased foreign sales of grain and milk (both exports and imports). As a result of well-developed grain processing and export of its products Poland has achieved positive balance of trade with increasing surplus with foreign countries in terms of value for several years. The cereals market in Poland − as in other European Union countries − is regulated, and this action is led the Agricultural Market Agency on behalf of the state.

  • Issue Year: 2016
  • Issue No: 10
  • Page Range: 121-137
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Polish