Poland has made major strides in trade relations with the ASEAN region over the past year, particularly in terms of its meat trade where the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) recently announced the approval of Polish beef into the market.
This means that all forms of Poland’s major meat exports which are poultry, pork and now beef are now eligible to enter the Singapore market – but Poland believes that there is much more growth potential here in not just Singapore but the entire ASEAN region.
“Not that many people in this region are aware that Poland is actually the largest apple producer in Europe and the third largest in the world,” Polish Embassy to Singapore 2nd Secretary Economic Cooperation Wojciech Wątły told FoodNavigator-Asia at a recent Taste Europe! Event held by the Polish Embassy in Singapore.
“We have made very significant strides in Europe and around the world with over US$50bn of exports in 2023, but we want to grow further, and to achieve this growth we know that we need to look closer at Asia.
“Asia is home to the largest population in the world and ASEAN is especially important as it is home to well over 600 million people, whereas Singapore is an important hub in this region.
The majority of apple imports in this region come from New Zealand, South Africa and China, with most consumers generally accepting New Zealand apples as the more premium varieties.
“New Zealand apples are wonderful, and we’re not in any way saying they are not, but what we do have in terms of advantage is completely opposite seasonality with these,” Polish fruits co-operative Wil-Sad spokesman Andrzej Ciara added.
“The clear gap we have noticed in South East Asia with regard to apples is that once apple season in New Zealand passes, the apples available here tend to be of generally lower quality – and this is a gap we can fill, as when they are flowering we are fruiting and vice versa.
“We have apple varieties that are familiar to local consumers such as Royal Gala, as well as unique varieties that are sweet and juicy yet hardy enough to go through long transport journeys and stay fresh such as Ligol.”
Another major target target product for Poland is aronia berries, which are less common in this region.
Aronia berries are also known as chokeberries, which look like blueberries on the outside but have a more sour and tart flavour which has prompted companies to focus more on processed aronia product exports such as aronia honey, wine, jam and more.
“The main benefit of aronia berries is its antioxidant content, which has not only general health benefits but also eye health benefits,” fruit products company Agro Berry owner Andrzej Krupinski added.
“With the rise of health and wellness awareness post-pandemic, we’ve seen the popularity of aronia increase as well, and many consumers also say that drinking this daily helps with high blood pressure control.
“At present we have developed various aronia-based products such as aronia honey and aronia juice, but apart from these food items we also see great potential for aronia in the supplements space as we can extract it as a freeze-dried powder rich in antioxidants.”
Localisation a priority
For larger-scale food product entry into Singapore, Poland plans to proceed via both retail and foodservice strategies.
“We’ve already had several Singapore Masterchef contestants join us in Poland to learn more about our foods as ingredients to adopt more localised items for the Asian market, and have also entered retail with some products such as apple juice and vodka,” Foreign Trade Office Head Magdalena Smolak told us.
“The plan is to expand on both of these in 2025, and accelerate these campaigns in an even larger way.”
