{"id":6297,"date":"2026-07-15T14:15:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/?p=6297"},"modified":"2026-07-15T14:15:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:15:40","slug":"china-drives-polands-growing-trade-deficit-50883","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/china-drives-polands-growing-trade-deficit-50883\/","title":{"rendered":"China Drives Poland\u2019s Growing Trade Deficit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Poland recorded a PLN 12.5 billion deficit in foreign trade in goods during the first five months of 2026, even though exports grew at a similar rate to imports. The negative balance was caused almost entirely by trade with developing countries. Poland continued to record a substantial surplus with developed economies, including the European Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"ht26-wrap\">\n<style>\n.ht26-wrap{max-width:900px;margin:0 auto;font-family:-apple-system,Segoe UI,Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;color:#1b1b1b;line-height:1.7;}\n.ht26-dateline{display:inline-block;background:#131F49;color:#fff !important;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;letter-spacing:.03em;padding:6px 14px;border-radius:4px;margin-bottom:18px;}\n.ht26-lead{font-size:19px;font-weight:600;color:#131F49;margin:0 0 22px 0;}\n.ht26-h2{font-size:24px;font-weight:800;color:#131F49;margin:36px 0 14px 0;border-left:5px solid #e67a2d;padding-left:12px;}\n.ht26-p{font-size:16px;margin:0 0 16px 0;}\n.ht26-chartbox{background:#f7f8fb;border:1px solid #e2e5ee;border-radius:10px;padding:20px 18px 12px 18px;margin:20px 0;}\n.ht26-chartbox canvas{max-width:100%;}\n.ht26-caption{font-size:13px;color:#5a5f72;text-align:center;margin-top:8px;}\n.ht26-callout{background:#e67a2d;border-radius:10px;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0;}\n.ht26-callout p{color:#fff !important;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;margin:0;}\n.ht26-note{background:#131F49;border-radius:10px;padding:16px 20px;margin:22px 0;}\n.ht26-note p{color:#fff !important;font-size:14px;margin:0;}\n.ht26-table{width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;margin:18px 0;font-size:14.5px;}\n.ht26-table th{background:#131F49;color:#fff !important;text-align:left;padding:9px 10px;}\n.ht26-table td{padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e5ee;}\n.ht26-table tr:nth-child(even){background:#f7f8fb;}\n.ht26-source{font-size:13px;color:#5a5f72;margin-top:30px;padding-top:14px;border-top:1px solid #e2e5ee;}\n<\/style>\n\n<span class=\"ht26-dateline\">Data for January\u2013May 2026 \u2022 Statistics Poland publication: 15 July 2026<\/span>\n\n<p class=\"ht26-p\">According to Statistics Poland, exports of goods in January\u2013May 2026 amounted to PLN 667.5 billion, an increase of 3.5% year on year, while imports reached PLN 679.9 billion, up 3.4%. Expressed in US dollars, the growth rates were significantly higher due to the weakening of the Polish currency against the dollar. Exports rose by 12.9% to USD 184.8 billion, while imports increased by 12.7% to USD 188.3 billion, resulting in a deficit of USD 3.4 billion. In euro terms, exports reached EUR 157.6 billion, up 3.4%, imports totalled EUR 160.6 billion, up 3.3%, and the deficit amounted to EUR 2.9 billion.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"ht26-chartbox\">\n<canvas id=\"ht26-chart1\" height=\"320\"><\/canvas>\n<div class=\"ht26-caption\">Exports and imports of goods in January\u2013May 2026 in three currencies. Source: Statistics Poland<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/china-drives-polands-growing-trade-deficit-50883\/#The_deficit_comes_from_developing_countries_not_Europe\" >The deficit comes from developing countries, not Europe<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/china-drives-polands-growing-trade-deficit-50883\/#Germany_remains_the_leading_partner_but_its_share_is_declining\" >Germany remains the leading partner, but its share is declining<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/china-drives-polands-growing-trade-deficit-50883\/#What_Poland_sells_and_buys_machinery_dominates_both_sides_of_trade\" >What Poland sells and buys: machinery dominates both sides of trade<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"ht26-h2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_deficit_comes_from_developing_countries_not_Europe\"><\/span>The deficit comes from developing countries, not Europe<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"ht26-p\">Developed countries accounted for 87.3% of Polish exports, including a 75.0% share for the EU, and 66.1% of imports, including 53.2% for the EU. A year earlier, the respective shares were 87.5% and 75.2% for exports, and 65.0% and 53.2% for imports. Poland generated a PLN 133.0 billion surplus in trade with developed countries, including PLN 138.7 billion with the European Union and PLN 107.4 billion with the euro area. Trade with developing countries presented a completely different picture, producing a deficit of as much as PLN 168.5 billion. Poland also recorded a positive balance of PLN 23.0 billion in trade with Central and Eastern European countries \u2014 Albania, Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine \u2014 although their combined share of total trade remained limited, accounting for 4.8% of exports and 1.3% of imports.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"ht26-chartbox\">\n<canvas id=\"ht26-chart2\" height=\"300\"><\/canvas>\n<div class=\"ht26-caption\">Balance of trade in goods by country group, January\u2013May 2026 (PLN billion). Source: Statistics Poland<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"ht26-h2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Germany_remains_the_leading_partner_but_its_share_is_declining\"><\/span>Germany remains the leading partner, but its share is declining<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"ht26-p\">Germany remains by far Poland\u2019s largest trading partner, although its share is gradually decreasing. Its share of exports fell by 0.8 percentage points to 26.5%, while its share of imports declined by 0.3 percentage points to 19.0%. Poland\u2019s trade surplus with Germany amounted to PLN 47.4 billion, slightly below the PLN 48.6 billion recorded a year earlier. Among Poland\u2019s main trading partners, the United States was the only country to record a decline in Polish exports, down 3.6% year on year, while France was the only country from which imports declined, falling by 0.5%. The ten largest trading partners accounted for 66.1% of total exports and 62.4% of total imports.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"ht26-chartbox\">\n<canvas id=\"ht26-chart3\" height=\"340\"><\/canvas>\n<div class=\"ht26-caption\">Top 10 export partners, January\u2013May 2026 (PLN billion). Source: Statistics Poland<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"ht26-chartbox\">\n<canvas id=\"ht26-chart4\" height=\"340\"><\/canvas>\n<div class=\"ht26-caption\">Top 10 import partners by country of origin, January\u2013May 2026 (PLN billion). Source: Statistics Poland<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"ht26-p\">Among countries outside the leading group, notable developments included imports from China, which reached PLN 105.8 billion and increased by 8.4% year on year, placing China second among Poland\u2019s sources of imports. Imports from Norway rose by 29.9%, mainly due to energy commodities, while imports from Denmark increased by 20.7%. In trade with Brazil, Poland\u2019s largest partner in the Mercosur group, the balance remained negative at PLN 4.2 billion. Polish exports to Brazil fell by 11.1%, while imports increased by 13.4%.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"ht26-h2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Poland_sells_and_buys_machinery_dominates_both_sides_of_trade\"><\/span>What Poland sells and buys: machinery dominates both sides of trade<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"ht26-p\">According to the SITC commodity classification, machinery, equipment and transport equipment remained the largest category in both exports and imports, accounting for 37.3% and 37.1% of trade respectively. In exports, the fastest growth was recorded in commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere in the SITC, up 36.9% year on year, and mineral fuels and lubricants, up 15.5%. The only decline occurred in animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes, which fell by 7.9%. In imports, the strongest increases were recorded in commodities not classified elsewhere, up 22.7%, and mineral fuels, up 10.3%. Declines were recorded in miscellaneous manufactured articles, down 7.4%, beverages and tobacco, down 5.1%, and food and live animals, down 1.3%.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"ht26-chartbox\">\n<canvas id=\"ht26-chart5\" height=\"360\"><\/canvas>\n<div class=\"ht26-caption\">Commodity structure of exports and imports by SITC section, January\u2013May 2026 (%). Source: Statistics Poland<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<table class=\"ht26-table\">\n<tbody><tr><th>Country group<\/th><th>Exports (PLN billion)<\/th><th>Imports (PLN billion)<\/th><th>Balance (PLN billion)<\/th><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Developed countries<\/td><td>582.6<\/td><td>449.6<\/td><td>+133.0<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>\u2014 including the EU<\/td><td>500.7<\/td><td>362.0<\/td><td>+138.7<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>\u2014 including the euro area<\/td><td>395.6<\/td><td>288.1<\/td><td>+107.4<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Developing countries<\/td><td>52.9<\/td><td>221.4<\/td><td>-168.5<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Central and Eastern Europe<\/td><td>31.9<\/td><td>8.9<\/td><td>+23.0<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>TOTAL<\/td><td>667.5<\/td><td>679.9<\/td><td>-12.5<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table>\n\n<div class=\"ht26-callout\">\n<p>Poland\u2019s foreign trade continues to present a two-sided picture: a strong and growing surplus in trade with the European Union and other developed countries is completely absorbed by the expanding deficit with developing economies \u2014 in practice, largely with China, Poland\u2019s second-largest source of imports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"ht26-source\">Source: Statistics Poland data. Original analysis based on data published by Statistics Poland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<script src=\"https:\/\/cdnjs.cloudflare.com\/ajax\/libs\/Chart.js\/4.4.1\/chart.umd.min.js\" data-cfasync=\"false\" class=\"nowprocket\"><\/script>\n\n<script data-cfasync=\"false\" class=\"nowprocket\">\n(function(){\n  var ht26Attempts = 0;\n  var ht26Interval = setInterval(function(){\n    ht26Attempts++;\n    if (typeof Chart !== 'undefined') {\n      clearInterval(ht26Interval);\n      ht26Init();\n    } else if (ht26Attempts >= 100) {\n      clearInterval(ht26Interval);\n    }\n  }, 100);\n\n  function ht26Init(){\n    var navy = '#131F49';\n    var amber = '#e67a2d';\n    var green = '#3f9142';\n    var grid = '#e2e5ee';\n\n    try {\n      var c1 = document.getElementById('ht26-chart1');\n      if (c1) {\n        new Chart(c1, {\n          type: 'bar',\n          data: {\n            labels: ['PLN billion','USD billion','EUR billion'],\n            datasets: [\n              { label: 'Exports', data: [667.5,184.8,157.6], backgroundColor: navy, borderRadius: 4 },\n              { label: 'Imports', data: [679.9,188.3,160.6], backgroundColor: amber, borderRadius: 4 }\n            ]\n          },\n          options: {\n            responsive: true,\n            plugins: { legend: { position: 'bottom' } },\n            scales: {\n              y: { beginAtZero: true, grid: { color: grid } },\n              x: { grid: { display: false } }\n            }\n          }\n        });\n      }\n    } catch(e) { console.error('ht26 chart1 error', e); }\n\n    try {\n      var c2 = document.getElementById('ht26-chart2');\n      if (c2) {\n        new Chart(c2, {\n          type: 'bar',\n          data: {\n            labels: ['Developed countries','including the EU','including the euro area','Central and Eastern Europe','Developing countries'],\n            datasets: [{ label: 'Balance (PLN billion)', data: [133.0,138.7,107.4,23.0,-168.5], backgroundColor: function(ctx){ return ctx.raw >= 0 ? 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The negative balance was caused almost entirely by trade with developing countries. Poland continued to record a substantial surplus with developed economies, including the European Union. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5408,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Poland\u2019s exports increased by 3.5% year on year to PLN 667.5 billion in the first five months of 2026. Imports, however, reached PLN 679.9 billion, leaving the country with a trade deficit of PLN 12.5 billion.\n\nThe overall result conceals a striking divide. Poland generated a PLN 138.7 billion surplus in trade with the European Union, but this was completely offset by a PLN 168.5 billion deficit with developing countries.\n\nGermany remains Poland\u2019s largest trading partner, while China is now its second-largest source of imports. Machinery and transport equipment continue to dominate both exports and imports.\n\nSee the full data, country rankings and commodity structure of Poland\u2019s foreign trade.\n\n#Poland #PolishEconomy #ForeignTrade #Exports #Imports #EuropeanUnion #China\n","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15],"tags":[2963,55,279,47,37,54,281,64,34,51,2701],"class_list":["post-6297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-albania","tag-belarus","tag-denmark","tag-european-union","tag-machinery","tag-moldova","tag-norway","tag-poland","tag-russia","tag-ukraine","tag-usd"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6297"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6300,"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6297\/revisions\/6300"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}