01-009 - Janiuk, Jarosiński, Ribberink
S u g g e s t e d c i t a t i o n :
Janiuk I., Jarosiński M., Ribberink N. (2015). Comparative study of Polish and Dutch meat industry exports with the example
of top Polish meat exporters exploiting international opportunities. International Entrepreneurship Review (previously pub-
lished as Przedsiębiorczość Międzynarodowa), 1(2), 9-26.
Comparative study of Polish and Dutch
meat industry exports with the example
of top Polish meat exporters
exploiting international opportunities
Ireneusz Janiuk
University of Bialystok
Faculty of Economics & Management
Department of Basics and Strategies of Management
ul. M. Skłodowskiej-Curie 14, 15-097 Białystok, Poland
e-mail: irekj@interia.eu
Mirosław Jarosiński
Warsaw School of Economics
Faculty of Management and Financial Sciences, Institute of Management
Al. Niepodległości 162, 02-554 Warszawa, Poland
e-mail: mjaros@sgh.waw.pl
Natalia Ribberink
Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
Faculty of Business and Social Sciences, Department of Business
Berliner Tor 5, 20099 Hamburg, Germany
e-mail: natalia.ribberink@haw-hamburg.de
Abstract:
Today’s world is more and more interconnected and so is its economy. This is especially visible
on the example of EU meat industry which accounts for more than 16% of the total meat production
and around 15% of the meat trade worldwide. The paper presents meat industry exports from the
Netherlands and Poland, both countries ranked among 10 top exporters of meat in EU and not only,
and the interconnectedness of the industry in these two countries. A comparative analysis of meat
industry composition and export activities in the Netherlands and Poland shows a lot of similarities
and allows for identification of push factors that drive internationalisation of meat producers in
10 Ireneusz Janiuk, Mirosław Jarosiński, Natalia Ribberink
both countries. This is a starting point for in-depth analysis of how two leading Polish meat ex-
porters, GK Sokołów S.A. and Farmutil S.A., exploit international opportunities.
Keywords: internationalisation; meat industry; internationalisation of Polish firms
JEL codes: F23, M16, N64
1. INTRODUCTION
Today’s world is more and more interconnected and so is its economy. This state-
ment is even more accurate when speaking about the Single European Market.
When one looks at the flow of goods and services one can easily see how different
products (especially goods) circulate around the market. Companies buy products
in particular countries and at the same time other companies, even from the same
industry export their products to the same countries. This will be observed in this
article on the basis of meat industry in the Netherlands and Poland.
The objective of this paper is to present the interconnectedness of meat indus-
try in the Netherlands and Poland and show how Polish meat exporters exploit in-
ternational opportunities. The article starts with the literature review on internation-
alisation. Then a general overview of European meat industry is presented which is
followed by a short analysis of first Dutch and then Polish meat industry. This is
succeeded by more detailed analysis of Polish meat exports and presentation of two
the most important ones.
2. INTERNATIONALISATION AS A FIRM’S GROWTH STRATEGY
The strategy of internationalisation is one of the fundamental corporate growth
strategies, which in the present increasingly globalised environment appears to be
the most natural strategic direction for both the medium-sized and the large enter-
prises as well as for the small ones. It is actually one of the proposed growth paths
recommended by Ansoff back in 1950s when he created his famous model of
growth strategies (see Ansoff, 1957). The strategic path he proposed was called
market development and although it could be understood as finding new groups of
customers, the new customer groups could be on new geographic market. This is
shown more explicitly in his new model where one of the dimensions is called
served geographic markets (see Ansoff, 1987, 110).
In some way Ansoff’s proposal of market growth trajectory is in line with the
sequential development model. The sequential development model (see in detail
Johanson & Vahlne, 1977, 1990, 2003, 2006, 2009; Johanson & Wiedersheim-Paul,
1975), or as it is often referred to the staged international expansion model (John-
son, Scholes & Whittington, 2012) or just the stage model (Hollensen, 2011), pre-
supposes that after a long period of growth on the domestic market a firm begins
its expansion into another country market which is close in terms of psychic as well
as cultural distance and strive to achieve a significant position by means of increas-
ing its organisational and capital commitment to newly entered market, as it “builds
market knowledge and capabilities” (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington 2012, 178).
Comparative study of Polish and Dutch meat industry exports with the example … 11
Only when this objective is achieved, a firm enters another foreign market and at-
tempt to strengthen its position there as well. This kind of activity results in slow
but gradual internationalisation of business activity.
Hence, many companies regularly decide to ”start small” at first and then
gradually increase their scope of activities. This approach to internationalisation
helps to minimize the risk as the risk of a market entry is in correlation with the
amount of investment set in place; meaning that the higher the investment is, the
higher is the risk involved (Lasserre, 2012, 210).
The alternative is to “start small” but expand rapidly on international markets
very often immediately after or soon after setting up a company and engaging in
dynamic development on a number of markets. This type of enterprise development
is consistent with the model of early internationalisation, which states that, despite
the psychic and cultural distance, firms enter numerous foreign markets already at
the beginning of their operations and even frequently ignore the domestic market
at the start.
Oviatt & McDougall (1994) in their early research analyse firms’ engagement
in the process of internationalisation. They treat it as a company’s natural evolution
process and distinguish four types of enterprises that are engaged in international
activities in different ways. Two of these types (namely Export/Import Start-ups
and Geographically Focused Start-Ups) focus their attention on a few foreign mar-
kets on which they are known. The third category (Multinational Traders) conduct
operations on numerous foreign markets using their existing distribution networks.
This signifies continuous expansion of activity as well as seeking opportunities for
trading on new foreign markets which is in line with the stage model. However the
behaviour of the forth category of firms described as Global Start-Ups is charac-
teristic for early internationalisation model. These firms undertake the most radical
activities on a number of foreign markets quite early in their development process
(Oviatt & McDougall, 1994).
Knight, Madsen & Servais (2004) explain that the reason for such an “aggres-
sive” behaviour of early internationalising firms may lie in the fact that they engage
in expansion on foreign markets in the sectors providing an opportunity of achiev-
ing competitive advantage quickly gaining considerable market share. The enter-
prises search for markets with conditions more favourable than those on domestic
ones. Quick internationalization allows them to avoid the barriers of growth con-
nected with the domestic market being saturated. This type of internationalisation
is characteristic for small and medium-sized enterprises which engage in interna-
tional expansion relatively soon after they are set up.
The analysis of internationalisation processes compose quite a large stream of
literature. Such analyses appear more and more frequently also in Polish research
(e.g. Morawczyński, 2007; Jarosiński, 2013; Danik & Kowalik, 2015). The Polish
stream of research indicates that both internationalisation models are followed by
Polish firms but generally speaking although a considerable percentage of Polish
firms undertake internationalisation their level of engagement is usually limited.
Polish firms usually limit their activity to several foreign markets and concentrate
12 Ireneusz Janiuk, Mirosław Jarosiński, Natalia Ribberink
mainly on the broadly defined European market. The share of foreign sales in total
sales is most often at a low level. A still relatively small number of enterprises
engages in foreign direct investment or uses other forms of activity on foreign mar-
kets such as licensing or franchising. Still the most popular mode of entry and op-
eration on foreign markets is exports (Jarosiński, 2013).
3. EUROPEAN MEAT INDUSTRY – BRIEF OVERVIEW
Meat production is one of the most important agricultural sectors in the European
Union, with four major meat product categories – pig meat, poultry meat, bovine
meat, and sheep and goat meat – being produced, consumed and traded. The eco-
nomic relevance of the sector is underlined by the fact that animal production –
covering output for animals and animal products – accounts for almost 44% of the
total European agricultural output (Eurostat, 2016). The objective target set by the
European policymakers is to stimulate the production of qualitative, nutritious and
affordable meat. This goal is undermined in the latest modification of the European
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), requiring a.o. greening of agricultural systems
by livestock farmers, if they wish to preserve their income and offer products
geared to market needs and to society’s demand for environmentally friendly farm-
ing practices (Eurostat, 2015).
The European Union is one of the leading meat producers worldwide account-
ing for more than 16% of the total meat production and around 15% of the meat
trade worldwide (European Commission, 2015).
4. DUTCH MEAT INDUSTRY EXPORTS OVERVIEW
The Netherlands – being a country with relatively small and predominantly satu-
rated market – is strongly dependant on international trade and is ranked as a lead-
ing exporter in selected goods and services, among others agricultural products,
including meat and live animals. Another factor contributing to a strong export ori-
entation is a fact that the Dutch meat consumption is in a shrinking trend reflected
in around 1% decrease annually over the last three years in a row. The current av-
erage level of meat consumption is equal to 84 kilogramme a year per capita (CBS
Netherlands, 2015).
Table 1 represents the composition of Dutch exports over the last 4 years and
their regional distribution. As shown in Table 1 the share of food and live animals
accounts for 13.2% of Dutch exports in 2015, whereby 78% are intra-regional or
intra-European exports. Furthermore, the export volumes both for the world as well
as for indicated regions are increasing.
Around 15% of food exports are represented by meat exports. In 2013 the
value of meat exported by Dutch producers amounted to 8.3 billion euro (CBS
Netherlands, 2014). The largest consumers of Dutch meat are shown in Table 2.
The largest two consumers of Dutch meat – specifically pork, beef and poultry –
are Germany and the United Kingdom and account for almost 40% of exports.
Comparative study of Polish and Dutch meat industry exports with the example … 13
Those two are followed by France consuming the amount of Dutch meat having
a value of 817 million euro, or less than a half of German consumption. The top-10
Table 1. Composition of Dutch export flows, 2012-2015, in million euro
Total goods Food and live animals
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015
World 429 717 433 106 433 405 427 266 50 047 53 871 55 974 56 615
EU 311 724 317 031 316 949 308 727 39 904 42 947 43 940 44 210
Non-EU 117 993 116 075 116 457 118 538 10 143 10 924 12 034 12 405
Source: CBS Netherlands, 2015.
export destinations for Dutch meat are European Union member states (see Table
2). The first exotic non-European market appears on rank 11 and is represented by
Hong Kong, being presumably an entry port for the entire Chinese market. Despite
the attractive market size and domestic demand in China the respective share of
Dutch meat exports of 2.0% is still pretty moderate. Nevertheless, Chinese market
and Asian region as a whole is seen by Dutch exporters as an attractive business
opportunity in the long run.
Table 2. The top-20 consumers of Dutch meat, 2013, in million euro
Rank Country
Meat exports from the Netherlands
EUR million % of total
1 Germany 1785 21.5
2 United Kingdom 1409 16.9
3 France 817 9.8
4 Italy 758 9.1
5 Belgium 513 6.2
6 Denmark 333 4.0
7 Greece 332 4.0
8 Spain 260 3.0
9 Sweden 219 2.6
10 Ireland 204 2.5
11 Hong Kong 168 2.0
12 Poland 160 1.9
13 Russian Federation 115 1.4
14 Czech Republic 95 1.1
15 Portugal 92 1.1
16 Austria 89 1.0
17 South Africa 68 0.8
18 Romania 66 0.8
19 Hungary 62 0.7
20 Japan 55 0.6
Total: 8300 100.0
Source: CBS Netherlands, 2014.
14 Ireneusz Janiuk, Mirosław Jarosiński, Natalia Ribberink
The Russian Federation is ranked as number 13 and accounts for 1.4% of
Dutch meat exports only, which provides an explanation for relatively harmless
impact of trade sanctions imposed by Russia in 2014 on Dutch meat suppliers. An-
other argument could be the fact, that a time span of some Russian sanctions being
in force was limited by 2 years only. In June 2016 selected meat producers – spe-
cifically beef (e.g. Van Drie Groep) and poultry suppliers – in the Netherlands were
allowed to serve the Russian market, together with 3 other countries, namely Italy,
Denmark, and France (Bourenbusiness, 2015).
Poland accounts for 1.9% of Dutch meat exports compared to 4.5% of Polish
meat exports going to the Netherlands respectively. This evidence of intra-indus-
trial trade reflects a modern trend in consumption pattern of todays’ consumers de-
manding a wide range of product features and product variety offered in a market.
The latest is another argument in support of internationalisation efforts pursued by
enterprises in the sector in both countries.
A closer look at the relevant international trade statistics leads to a conclusion
that the Netherlands is predominantly involved in direct exports of meat. The share
of transit trade in agricultural products and live animals is moderate, with annually
only 3% of these goods being re-exported from the Netherlands in time period of
2012-2014 (the number of 3% stayed stable over the whole period) (CBS Nether-
lands, 2016). Thus, international processing activities, e.g. within internationally
dispersed supply chains, in this sector are limited, and the major part of meat and
meat products being exported has their country of origin (COO) in the Netherlands
and is respectively labelled. Table 3 provides an overview of Dutch meat industry
composition, specifically focussing on suppliers.
Table 3. Overview of Dutch meat suppliers (amount in numbers), 2010-2015
Farm type 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
All farm types 72 324 70 392 68810 67 481 65 507 63 913
Specialist grazing livestock 38 024 37 041 36682 36 086 35 204 33 641
Mixed livestock holdings 1072 942 819 724 684 660
Mixed crops / livestock 1859 1794 1677 1619 1547 1451
Source: CBS Netherlands, 2015.
The numbers shown in Table 3 let formulate an assumption of gradual con-
solidation of meat suppliers, both in all-farm-types-segment as well as in individual
groups of farms. This aspect will be further investigated in the following section,
while taking a closer look at one representative subsector of Dutch meat industry,
namely pork production.
The export of pork from the Netherlands reached in 2015 the highest (record)
level of 944 million kilogramme or 6% increase compared to 2014. Due to a low
price the export value was 4% lower than in 2014 and was equal to 1.8 billion euro.
As for regional distribution the remarkable growth was seen in Asia. The share of
Dutch pork exports to Asia has doubled over the last two years and was in 2014
equal to 316 million euro (CBS Netherlands, 2016). In this perspective Dutch meat
Comparative study of Polish and Dutch meat industry exports with the example … 15
exporters follow the general European trend and extend their export volumes to the
Asian region, a trend supported by policy-makers through various trade agreements
(e.g. FTA) facilitating additional international trade flows.
The Netherlands is the sixth largest pork meat exporter and, thus, an important
trade partner in this segment of international trade. Table 4 shows the 10 largest
pork meat exporters worldwide.
Table 4. The top-10 largest pork meat exporters worldwide, 2014, in million euro
Rank Country EUR million
1 Germany 3801
2 United States 3668
3 Spain 2545
4 Denmark 2429
5 Canada 2113
6 Netherlands 1826
7 Belgium 1268
8 Brazil 1088
9 France 840
10 Poland 694
Source: CBS Netherlands, 2014.
Besides pork meat Netherlands is a large exporter of live animals (pigs). In
2015 the volume of these exports was equal 780 million euro. This is 14% lower
than 15 years ago. Almost 70% of exported live animals go to Germany. The second
largest market – with a remarkable gap to Germany – is Belgium with 7%, followed
by Spain with 4% and Italy with 3.5% (ABN AMRO, 2014). As for the industry
composition a trend of market consolidation in pork meat segment is evident during
the last 15 years and is demonstrated in Table 5.
Table 5. Market consolidation in Dutch pork meat segment
Year Number of companies Number of heads (pigs), in million
2000 14 500 13.1
2003 10 700 11.2
2006 9000 11.4
2009 7600 12.2
2012 5900 12.2
2015 4900 12.6
Source: CBS Netherlands, 2015.
The number of companies went down over the last 15 years, whereby the num-
ber of heads per enterprise increased from 900 to ca. 2550, which reflects a trend
of market consolidation in a given segment. The major drivers for consolidation of
pork meat segment in the Netherlands could be classified as follows:
1. Market consolidation is as a rule collateral to internationalisation within an
industry and defined through ascending M&A dynamics;
16 Ireneusz Janiuk, Mirosław Jarosiński, Natalia Ribberink
2. Increased pressure from retailers leads to lower prices and reduced profit mar-
gins, both for meat and meat products. The latest pushes suppliers to increase
their market power and efficiency through consolidation.
The composition of production chain in Dutch meat industry goes from farm
to slaughter, then to warehouses, trading companies and retailers. The number and
major classification of Dutch farms was shown in Table 3. In order to provide some
corporate examples within the industry the largest companies in slaughter segment
are selected – based on numbers provided by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Af-
fairs (Ministerie van Economische Zaken, 2012) – and summarized in Table 6.
Table 6. The largest Dutch slaughters by units per year, 2012
No. Company Region / Location Units per year
1 Vion Food Group Noord-Brabant / Tilburg more than 75000
2 Exportslachterij J. Gosschalk en Zn Gelderland / Epe more than 75000
3 Wadden Vlees Friesland / Dokkum 25000-75000
4 Abattoir Amsterdam Noord-Holland / Amsterdam 25000-75000
5 Van Hattem Vlees Gelderland / Dodewaard 25000-75000
6 Tomassen Noord-Brabant / Someren 10000-25000
7 Wouters Utrecht / De Hoef 10000-25000
8 G.J. Hutten en Zn Overijssel / Nieuw Heeten 10000-25000
9 Slachthuis Nijmegen Gelderland / Nijmegen 10000-25000
Source: Ministry of Economic Affairs Netherlands, 2012.
As the domestic market is saturated and even stagnating, companies active in
Dutch meat production industry look for other sources for growth, usually available
abroad. Not only exotic non-European destinations are of special interest in this
perspective. Also in Europe some drivers for growth through internationalisation
are given. One source of competitive advantage for Dutch meat producers is, for
instance, generated through renewed implementation of minimum wage policy by
German meat producers. This will stepwise reduce the existing gap in labour costs
between German and Dutch suppliers and improve competitive position of Dutch
meat industry. Further investment in innovation, improved product quality and ef-
ficiency are further sources of competitive advantage while serving international
markets.
5. POLISH MEAT INDUSTRY EXPORTS OVERVIEW
Exports of Polish products and services have been steadily increasing for years. In
2010 they amounted to 120 billion euro and in 2014 already to 166 billion euro,
which is an increase of almost 40%. The share of the food industry in the exports
has been increasing systematically as well. In 2010 Poland was exporting agricul-
ture and food products worth 13.5 billion euro. This value rose by 21.9 billion euro
in 2014 and was supposed to reach 23.5 billion euro by the end of 2015 – see table
7.
Comparative study of Polish and Dutch meat industry exports with the example … 17
Table 7. Polish food products export’s value and growth, 2010-2015 (in bln EUR)
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Export value 13.5 15.2 17.9 20.4 21.9 23.5f
Export growth rate (year-to-year) – 12.6% 17.7% 14.0% 7.3% 7.3%f
Source: Agencja Rynku Rolnego, 2015 – preliminary data.
In 2014 the dynamics were affected by the plunges in the East. Problems with
food began already in the first quarter of 2014. Two cases of the African swine
fever discovered in eastern Poland blocked the exports of pork not only to the Rus-
sian market but also to other markets outside the EU, primarily those in the Far
East. As a result of the slowdown the stocks grew and the livestock prices plum-
meted. This was followed by trade sanctions imposed by Russia after which the
exports of food classified as products of plant origin decreased by 17.6 p.p.
(Woźniak, 2015).
The European Union is the main recipient of Polish food products – 82% of
exports is directed to EU countries. The leading position is taken by Germany with
22% share in EU meat imports from Poland. Subsequent markets and their shares
in the Polish exports include: the UK (9%), the Czech Republic (7%), France (6%),
Italy (6%) and the Netherlands (6%) (Woźniak, 2015).
Polish firms attempted to compensate for the decrease of exports to Russia
and Ukraine with the sales to Belarus and Kazakhstan. However, both Belarus and
Kazakhstan reduced their import from Poland in the first eight months of 2014
which did not allow Polish producers, whose sales were directed to Russia and
Ukraine, to fully compensate for their losses.
The decrease of the demand in the East was compensated by exports to Euro-
pean Union markets, which might be explained by their proximity. Nevertheless,
the biggest profits may be generated on distant and risky markets such as Asia and
Africa. Vietnam, for instance, may turn out to be one of the prospective markets for
Poland. Its economy accelerates by almost 6% annually. Vietnam’s middle class
and its purchasing power are on the rise. One of the advantages of this direction is
also the friendly attitude of the Vietnamese people.
Other prospective markets include: India, Indonesia, China, Malaysia and the
Middle East (including the United Arab Emirates). Especially China still displays
a great potential. According to the president of the Polish Information and Foreign
Investment Agency (PAIiIZ) – Sławomir Majman, the growing middle class in
China as well as the lack of trust to domestic food production offers Polish compa-
nies opportunities for increasing their exports. In Majman's view, the high quality
of Polish products and the promotion of the food industry can contribute to the
improvement of the turnover between Poland and China (Woźniak, 2015).
Apart from China, the markets of the Persian Gulf states are also attractive for
the Polish agriculture and food industry. Polish food products are one of the export
specialities offering opportunities for conquering those markets.
18 Ireneusz Janiuk, Mirosław Jarosiński, Natalia Ribberink
The data concerning 2015 demonstrate that livestock, meat and meat products
constituted the largest part of the agriculture and food exports amounting to 20%
(EUR 4.7 billion). The exports of meat and giblets were on the first position (EUR
1,638 million), while beef exports ranked the second (EUR 1,202 million). The
third largest exports involved processed meat products (EUR 894 million), whereas
the exports of pork were on the forth position (EUR 697 million). Just to compare
imports of livestock, meat and meat products constituted in 2015 amounted to EUR
2.0 billion in value.
Over the last couple of years the exports of all these groups of products grew
in value but pork’s only deteriorated. Despite the fact that in 2014 the entire export
of pork decreased, the customers from the EU purchased 25% more of it than they
did in the previous year. Also the exports of livestock dropped considerably. The
highest growth was recorded in the exports of beef. The export volume rose by 26
p.p. against 2014. The second place was taken by exports of meat and giblets which
rose by 20 p.p.
Looking at the meat market value in Poland it also steadily rose over the past
five years starting from 4.6 billion euro in 2011 and reaching 5.6 billion euro in
2015 (see Table 8). According to Canadean Report the steady growth should con-
tinue over at least next 4 years. The meat market value in Poland is projected to
reach 6.7 billion euro in 2019.
Table 8. Polish meat market value and growth, 2011-2015 (in mln EUR1)
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Market value 4575.4 5147.9 5275.6 5350.9 5586.0
Market growth (year-to-year) 3.9% 12.5% 2.4% 1.4% 4.4%
Source: Canadean.
The analysis of Polish home meat market and Polish meat exports indicates
that the production of meat and meat products in Poland is steadily growing.
6. DANISH VS. POLISH MEAT INDUSTRY EXPORTS –
COMPARATIVE CONCLUSIONS
Comparative analysis of meat industry composition and export activities in two
European countries – both ranked among 10 top exporters of meat – showed fol-
lowing similarities:
1 For the purpose of easier data comparison the values of export revenues are expressed in euro. The National Bank
of Poland (NBP) exchange rate was applied to convert the values of sales revenues from PLN to EUR. For the
2010 data: 1 EUR = 3.9603 PLN, rate of 31.12.2010; for the 2011 data: 1 EUR = 4.4168 PLN, rate of 30.12.2011;
for the 2012 data: 1 EUR = 4.0822 PLN, rate of 31.12.2012; for the 2013 data: 1 EUR = 4.1472 PLN, rate of
31.12.2013; for the 2014 data: 1 EUR = 4.2623 PLN, rate of 31.12.2014 and for the 2015 data: 1 EUR = 4.2615
PLN, rate of 31.12.2015.
Comparative study of Polish and Dutch meat industry exports with the example … 19
− Domestic market saturation is one of the major drivers for internationalisation
of companies within the sector in both countries. A slight decline in domestic
consumption of meat – e.g. annual decrease of about 1% during the last 3 years
in a row in the Netherlands – also contributes to this trend. Both countries see
and explore market opportunities in Asian region, especially China.
− Trade sanctions on selected meat products imposed by Russia in 2014 had less
negative impact on exports from both countries than originally estimated. This
could be explained by relatively high proportion of intra-regional (intra-Euro-
pean) trade in their export geography, with Germany being the major customer
for both countries – a large market located in geographic proximity and im-
plying similar quality standards on imported meat.
− Both countries – being major meat suppliers within the European Union – are
also involved in bilateral intra-industrial trade. Thus, Poland consumes 1.9%
of Dutch meat exports and the Netherlands 4.5% of Polish meat exports re-
spectively. A classic explanation for intra-industrial trade flows could be as-
sumed to be applicable here as well.
− In both countries a process of stepwise market consolidation – being of the
collateral to internationalisation within an industry and reflected through as-
cending M&A dynamics – is evident.
7. EXPORTS IN POLISH MEAT ENTERPRISES
The analyses confirm the significance of the meat industry for the Polish export and
demonstrate different levels of demand on foreign markets. Due to that fact, the
meat processing companies were subjected to a more detailed study. One of the
sources that served the purpose of the analysis was the Ranking of Exporters – the
List of 2,000 Polish Enterprises and Exporters. In 2014 nine meat enterprises were
identified among the 300 firms included in the list. In the course of analysis of meat
firms in Poland it is worth mentioning the values of export revenues – see Table 9.
The data in the table demonstrates that in 2014 the largest exporters on the
meat market generated export revenues ranging between EUR 24.8 million to EUR
163.8 million. The changes in the share of export in the sales of meat companies in
the years 2009-2014 confirm the growing tendency in relation to the share of meat
products in the export of agriculture and food products. The diversity of markets
on which meat enterprises operated increased as well. In 2014 GK Sokołów S.A.
and Farmutil S.A had the highest export revenues. Both of these firms achieved
export revenues of over EUR 100 million. Whereas the next 7 companies had export
revenues of less than EUR 100 million.
GK Sokołów S.A. focuses on pork and beef, while Farmutil S.A. functions on
poultry and pork markets. However, the issues connected with the diversity of the
shares of export on particular meat markets require more in-depth analyses.
In the context of conducting business operations on foreign markets, the larg-
est Polish meat exporter is GK Sokołów S.A. It is an economic grouping whose
20 Ireneusz Janiuk, Mirosław Jarosiński, Natalia Ribberink
export revenues in 2014 amounted to EUR 163.8 million, whereas its annual share
of exports in the total sales in the years 2009-2014 reached the average level of
about 20%. The enterprise on the second position in terms of export revenues in
2014 was Farmutil S.A., which earned EUR 125.7 million. In the case of this firm
the share of export in the company’s total sales had been systematically rising since
2010 to reach 25% in 2014 (see Table 9).
Table 9. Meat companies with the largest export revenues
No. Company name
Export revenues2
(EUR million)
FSTS (%)
2012 2013 2014 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
1 GK Sokołów S.A. 149.4 183.1 163.8 21.0 20.7 21.2 24.1 21.8
2 ZRP Farmutil HS S.A. GK 106.6 n.a. 125.7 20.1 20.3 23.0 24.0 25.0
3 ZDM Superdrob S.A. 54.6 73.1 85.9 33.0 43.0 43.0 51.0 54.0
4 Polski Koncern Mięsny Duda S.A. GK n.a. n.a. 54.6 n.a. 13.6 14.3 14.1 13.8
5 Indykpol S.A. GK n.a. n.a. 54.4 n.a. 17.9 18.6 18.5 20.7
6 Zakłady Mięsne Łmeat-Łuków S.A. n.a. n.a. 33.0 n.a. 18.0 20.0 20.0 24.1
7 Indyk Śląsk sp. z o.o. n.a. n.a. 32.1 n.a. 56.3 57.0 53.7 55.2
8 Pamapol S.A. GK n.a. n.a. 31.0 n.a. 16.3 21.5 27.6 34.2
9 Zakłady Mięsne Skiba n.a. n.a. 24.8 n.a. 11.3 14.4 29.7 21.8
Source: own study on the basis of The Ranking of Exporters – the List of 2,000 Polish Enterprises
and Exporters Special Supplement to Rzeczpospolita daily, 3. December 2013, p. 8, 9; The Ranking
of Exporters – the List of 2,000 Polish Enterprises and Exporters. Special Supplement to Rzeczpo-
spolita daily, 28. October 2014, p. 8, 10; and The Ranking of Exporters – the List of 2,000 Polish
Enterprises and Exporters. Special Supplement to Rzeczpospolita, 21 October 2015. p. 10-12.
The history of Sokołów dates back to the end of 19th century. The present
corporate group GK Sokołów S.A. was established in the process involving numer-
ous mergers and acquisitions of meat processing plants, which was an effect of the
consolidation of domestic enterprises in the meat industry that have taken place
over the last two decades. In 2003 and 2004 GK Sokołów S.A. was acquired by two
foreign investors, namely, the Finnish meat concern HK SCAN Corporation and the
Danish meat concern Danish Crown. The equity injections enabled the company to
modernise its plants and purchase modern technology lines and in this way increase
its production capacity, improve the quality of products and adjust the operations
of the firm to market requirements. Currently 100% of the group’s shares are held
by Danish meat concern Danish Crown.
Present-day GK Sokołów S.A. is an industrially diversified organisation that
gradually develops its potential and strengthens its position on the meat market,
which can be confirmed by the fact that in 2009 it achieved 6% share in the meat
2 For the purpose of easier data comparison the values of export revenues are expressed in euro. The National Bank
of Poland (NBP) exchange rate was applied to convert the values of sales revenues from PLN to EUR. For the
2010 data: 1 EUR = 3.9603 PLN, rate of 31.12.2010; for the 2011 data: 1 EUR = 4.4168 PLN, rate of 30.12.2011;
for the 2012 data: 1 EUR = 4.0822 PLN, rate of 31.12.2012; for the 2013 data: 1 EUR = 4.1472 PLN, rate of
31.12.2013; for the 2014 data: 1 EUR = 4.2623 PLN, rate of 31.12.2014 and for the 2015 data: 1 EUR = 4.2615
PLN, rate of 31.12.2015.
Comparative study of Polish and Dutch meat industry exports with the example … 21
market (see Janiuk 2011, p. 94-97). In the context of export it is also worth turning
attention to the structure of the Group. Its particular subsidiaries operate in the fol-
lowing areas: raw materials production, processing and production as well as distri-
bution and sales. The organisational segments of the corporate group GK Sokołów
S.A. are presented in Table 10.
Table 10. Organisational segments of the corporate group GK Sokołów S.A. and speciali-
sation of particular subsidiaries
SEGMENT
GK Sokołów S.A.
SPECIALISATION OF SUBSIDIARIES
PRODUCTION
OF RAW
MATERIALS
Agro-Sokołów: Agriculture and livestock farms producing pigs for slaughter.
PROCESSING
AND
PRODUCTION
- Branches in Sokołów Podlaski, Jarosław and Robakowo pig slaughter and meat
processing.
- Branches in Koło and Tarnów: cattle slaughter.
- Branches in Czyżew and Dębica: meat processing and cold cuts production.
DISTRIBUTION
AND SALES
- The network of distribution on the domestic market: 42 distribution centres and
warehouses in the main cities of Poland. 49 of the firm’s own retail outlets and af-
filiated retail outlets in large chain stores. 670 own-brand outlets.
- Sokołów-Eksport: international trade.
- Sokołów-Service: technical support.
- Sokołów-Logistyka: transport and logistics.
Source: own study on the basis of www.sokolow.pl
The subsidiary Agro-Sokołów operates in the segment of production and is
responsible for breeding. Therefore, it provides the Group with access to high-qual-
ity pork. The segment of processing and production consists of seven large, modern
and specialised production plants which operate on a large scale and at the same
time maintain high-quality standards. The production plants owned by the Group
are the most modern sites of this kind in Poland. GK Sokołów S.A. produces about
22,000 tonnes of meat and meat products of great variety monthly. The firm’s prod-
ucts include: fresh pork and beef, meat for roasting, hams, salami, steamed meats,
smoked meats, thin sausages, dry sausages, meats for grilling, ready meals and
tinned meats.
In the segment of distribution and sales functions the Group’s own domestic
network of distribution. It comprises centres of distribution, warehouses, the firm’s
own retail and affiliated retail outlets in large chain stores. A coherent and consist-
ently implemented marketing strategy of the Group allows it to strengthen the
Sokołów brand which is well-known in Poland.
From the perspective of development of exports, important role is played by
the subsidiary Sokołów-Eksport, which is responsible for foreign trade. In addition,
the structure of GK Sokołów includes entities conducting complementary activity.
They are the following: Sokołów-Service (technical support) as well as Sokołów-
Logistyka (transport and logistics) – see Table 10.
The analyses presented in this paper demonstrate that exporting is particularly
significant and increasingly important for the development of the corporate group
22 Ireneusz Janiuk, Mirosław Jarosiński, Natalia Ribberink
GK Sokołów S.A. Individual branches of the Group operate on such markets as:
China (including Hong Kong), Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Russia, the USA,
Ukraine, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and some African countries. The EU,
however, remains its main market which accounts for about 86% of the Group's
exports. The main European Union markets include: Italy, the UK and Germany.
Outside the EU the Group’s products can be found on all continents. Similarly as
in the case of the entire Polish meat industry, China is a prospective market for the
Group as well. Currently, only raw meat is exported there. However, the Group
endeavours to obtain permits for production and export of processed products
which would allow the company to generate greater sales profits (www.hur-
tidetal.pl accessed on 19.03.2014).
As mentioned before, the exports of GK Sokołów S.A. account for about
a quarter of the Group's revenues. Effective operation on foreign markets makes it
possible for the company to generate the largest export revenues of all the Polish
meat exporters. In accordance with the declaration of Bogusław Miszczuk, the pres-
ident of GK Sokołów S.A., the Group’s strategy involves maintaining exports at the
level of 25%-30% of the sales revenues (www.portalspozywczy.pl accessed on
19.03.2014).
The second largest meat exporter in terms of revenues is Farmutil S.A. ZRP
Farmutil is a grouping of companies with domestic capital. It established its posi-
tions in the industry predominantly by means of transformations of private compa-
nies. In the process of natural investment of financial surplus, it gradually expands
its industrial and market scope of operations. The company sees opportunities aris-
ing from the consolidation of the industry and purchases shares or stocks of entities
operating in the broadly defined agriculture and meat industry. It uses its principal
area of operation as a base and enters fields with which it is related technologically,
organisationally or in terms of market. By investing in technological development
Farmutil S.A. incorporates independent businesses into its own business activity
structure. The restructuring it conducts leads to functioning in the form of a corpo-
rate group. The group includes subsidiaries considered to be indispensable in the
concept of further growth. This makes it possible to utilize complementary resources
of particular entities. Moreover, it allows for expanding the sources of raw materials
as well as the processing and distribution base. By extending its scope of activity the
firm improves its variety of products and secures further development.
The organisational structure of Farmutil S.A. is worth analysing as well. Its
segments and structure are presented in Table 11.
The segment production of raw materials includes Agricultural Production
Enterprise Agrifarm Sp. z o.o., which conducts broadly defined agricultural activity.
It comprises pig, poultry and cattle farms. Raw materials production takes place
also in the Grain Processing Enterprise Eko-Młyn in Wałcz. The company processes
grain and fodder. The aforementioned firms provide Farmutil S.A. with access to
high-quality pork, beef and poultry. The remaining companies in the raw materials
production segment conduct supporting activity. They are the following: Service
and Research Laboratory Biochemik Sp. z o.o., Insemination Station Insefarm in
Comparative study of Polish and Dutch meat industry exports with the example … 23
Śmiłowo, Transport and Environment Protection Facility as well as Meal, Fat, Con-
centrate Production and Utilization Plant in Śmiłowo.
Table 11. Organisational segments of the corporate group Farmutil S.A. and specialisation
of particular subsidiaries
SEGMENT
ZRP Farmutil S.A.
SPECIALIZATION OF SUBSIDIARIES
PRODUCTION
OF RAW
MATERIALS
- Agricultural Production Enterprise Agrifarm Sp. z o.o.: Agricultural activity. Pig,
poultry and cattle farms.
- Grain Processing Enterprise Eko-Młyn in Wałcz: Processing grain and fodder.
- Supporting activity:
▪ Service and Research Laboratory Biochemik Sp. z o.o.,
▪ Insemination Station Insefarm in Śmiłowo,
▪ Transport and Environment Protection Facility,
▪ Meal, Fat, Concentrate Production and Utilization Plant in Śmiłowo.
PROCESSING
AND
PRODUCTION
- Processing of meat; purchase; slaughter; production of cold cuts, tinned meats
and fats.
- H. Stokłosa Meat Plant in Śmiłowo Operation on the pork market.
- Łmeat-Łuków Meat Company in Łuków: Operation on the pork and beef market.
- Poultry Processing Plant Koziegłowy: Operation on the poultry market.
DISTRIBUTION
AND SALES
- Distribution centres, manufacturer’s retail outlets, domestic network of retail and
wholesale distribution.
- Export departments in:
- Łmeat Łuków Meat Company (pork and beef market),
- Poultry Processing Plant Koziegłowy (poultry market).
Source: own study on the basis of www.farmutil-hs.pl
The segment of processing and production consists of three large and modern
meat plants. Their scope of activity encompasses meat processing, making pur-
chases, slaughter as well as production of cold cuts, tinned meats and fats. The Meat
Plant in Śmiłowo operates on the pork market. Łmeat Łuków Meat Company func-
tions on the pork and beef market, whereas the Poultry Processing Plant Koziegłowy
concentrates on the poultry market. The activity of these companies makes it pos-
sible to conduct large-scale production. Specialisation, on the other hand, makes it
possible to expand the range of products. Particular meat plants are equipped with
the latest machinery and equipment for processing and packaging meat. This im-
proves general effectiveness of operation and maintains high quality.
The segment of distribution and sales consists of distribution centres, manu-
facturer’s retail outlets as well as the domestic network of retail and wholesale dis-
tribution. The Export Departments functioning as parts of the meat plants in Łuków
and Koziegłowy are responsible for the foreign trade. The Export Department in
Łmeat-Łuków Meat Company takes care of the sales on the pork and beef markets,
while the Export Department in the Poultry Processing Plant Koziegłowy deals with
exports on the poultry market.
ZRP Farmutil S.A. is a multi-plant company with a full production profile.
This ensures the high quality of products which fulfil the EU requirements due to
the use of modern technologies. The company’s products are of the highest quality
in all ranges. They include: fresh pork, beef and poultry, cold cuts, smoked meats,
24 Ireneusz Janiuk, Mirosław Jarosiński, Natalia Ribberink
sausages, tinned meat, fats and fodder. Well-qualified staff which has for years
worked in the meat industry offers products which fulfil the expectations of the
firm's customers. Moreover, Farmutil S.A. intensively develops the network of its
retail and wholesale outlets. In 2014 the manufacturer possessed a network of 220
retail outlets in Poland, which makes the firm’s products more accessible. In addi-
tion, maintaining high quality opens foreign markets as well. Farmutil S.A. exports
primarily to the EU countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and
France. Its products can be found on Eastern European markets such as Russia,
Ukraine and Moldova as well. What is more, the company possesses permits al-
lowing it to export to such countries as: Iran, Canada, Congo, Hong Kong, Japan,
Taiwan, the USA, Ivory Coast and Vietnam.
8. CONCLUSIONS
The meat industry constitutes a major share in food industry both in European Un-
ion and in both analysed countries. Poland and Netherlands are also important ex-
porters of meat. The presented examples of two Polish meat producers GK Sokołów
S.A. and ZRP Farmutil S.A. show that their strategies of internationalisation stem
from the need to find more favourable functioning conditions. The forms of en-
gagement in international operations described in the article indicate potential en-
terprise development and growth directions. The firms operating on foreign mar-
kets take into consideration their specific needs and take different levels of risk.
When building their competitive position they take advantage of a variety of
sources of competitive advantage. They also search for opportunities to utilise their
existing competitive advantage on foreign markets. Despite the problems appearing
on some markets the companies can flexibly redirect their sales to other markets
(including Asian ones) exploiting new international opportunities.
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www.sokolow.pl
www.farmutil-hs.pl