Blog by Michael Clay

Once again it is reported that Retail sales in Poland have increased.

In this current economic climate, that is a fantastic result and clearly once again shows that Poland is NOT in economic crisis.

The high street has always been a great thermometer for testing economic indicators, and Poland in this current credit crunch is still showing that the consumer is hungry to buy and has still got disposable income in the high street.

Overseas exporters should take advantage of this situation so that they can obtain a share in the imports taking place in Poland. One such category is the WINE business which is expected to grow at the rate of 5.5% per annum in volume and 11% per annum in value.

The Mayor of Warsaw spoke at the Charing Cross Hotel on Thursday evening to a large number of delegates about the City of Warsaw and how well it is doing in these difficult times.

Over 70 delegates attended from the Banking, Industrial and construction sectors as well as many other interested parties all wanting to know more about the Warsaw effect.  Michael Clay, Vice Chairman of the British Polish Chamber of Commerce, acted as Chairman and introduced the speakers:- Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz the Mayor of Warsaw, Pawel Pawlowski responsible for Department of City Investment and Miroslaw Czekaj the City Treasurer.

The host for the evening were represented by Joanna Khan of Price-Waterhouse-Coopers who spoke about PPP projects in Warsaw and in general and speakers from Poland Street Association.

The event ran very smoothly with several poignant questions from the floor, and Michael Clay specifically asking about the Social and Municipality Housing schemes which would solve the housing problems in Warsaw. Several ideas were mooted on this subject which will give a lot of new ideas to Warsaw city.

It was confirmed that the new North Bridge in Warsaw had seen work begun some 4 weeks earlier and a great deal of infrastructure is being done in preparation for 2012.

On Friday, the Mayor was the guest of honour at the Polish Embassy in Portland Place London at which a large number of dignitaries attended from all over the London region. There were about 130 attendees at this event including Television and the press.

Once again Exports to Poland are on the increase.

As the Zloty gains some more strength, the value of other European currencies allows exports to Poland to be very much more competitive than earlier this year.

Export to Poland is now a major factor for many UK companies continuing to survive the downturn, and gives them an entry to what has been a market they have not really noticed before.

As more UK companies consider Export to Poland,  they begin to realise the real potential of this lucrative market with a population of nearly 40 million.

In addition, more UK companies feel it is worth investigating a way of Export from Poland as goods from this source are competitively priced.

We have some new associated partners shown on the Links page.

Among them are DKM Real Estate with four branches in Poland including Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz and also in Kiev in the Ukraine.

Also added is Wnetrza Design a first class Interior Design and Fitt out company for Polish property. Ideal for Investors, Home Owners and Developers who need the interiors of their property looking really good.

The Mayor of Warsaw is coming to London to present Public sector infrastructure investment and other business opportunities.

The Mayor, HANNA GRONKIEWICZ-WALTZ , will be at:- The Regency Room, Charing Cross Hotel, The Strand, London WC2 - on Thursday 16th July,

She will be speaking about Warsaw as a city hardly touched by the effects of the global economic crisis. Unemployment is still only 2.2%. Public infrastructure projects, either EU funded or PPPs, are driving the city's economic growth. As one of the host cities of the Euro2012 football championships, Warsaw is investing heavily in the National Stadium as well as in transport and tourism infrastructure.

Environmental protection and health care are other areas where the city is investing.

The on line survey will appear now on the web sites of Polish Express Newspapes, Dziennik Polski, Panaorama, Cooltura - and the web sites of Polacy, Londynek.net and many others.

The results will show us what the Polish community REALLY want to eat and will give a real VOICE to the community.

I heard that because wine is so expensive in Poland - competitively priced high quality wine is planned to be imported from Italy, Spain and France.

Wine imports have been expensive in the past and this new venture should make a bottle of wine more affordable

Export to Poland will play a big part in this importation to Poland