Poland extends position as world’s leading exporter of waffles and wafers, with 15% of global market

Poland has extended its position as the world’s largest exporter of waffles and wafers. Its global market share reaching 15.1% in 2022, up from 13.6% the previous year and ahead of Italy (12.8%), Canada (9.3%) and Germany (9.2%).

Last year, Poland exported 155,000 tonnes of waffles and wafers worth €833 million, representing an increase of 17% in volume and 33% in value, data from the International Trade Centre shows. That secured Poland’s position as the world’s leading waffle exporter for the eighth year running.

According to the Polish Economic Institute (PIE), exports of bakery and pastry products, including waffles and wafers – which account for more than 30% of this category – grew further in the first seven months of 2023 despite unfavourable external conditions such as increases in energy and raw material prices.

“During this period, 90,000 tonnes of waffles and wafers worth €503 million were supplied to foreign customers. Compared to the same period last year, the volume sold increased by 6.6% and the value by 16.1%,” PIE wrote in its weekly report published yesterday.

Poland took the leading position among waffle and waffle exporters in 2015, when its market share stood at 10.7%. Since then, the value of Poland’s exports has risen by 124%, while the amount of waffles and wafers exported has doubled.

The main importers from Poland in 2022 were Germany, buying 17.8% of Polish exports, the UK (13.5%), France (8.4%), and the Czech Republic (5%), International Trade Centre data show.

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Main image credit: Marco Verch Professional Photographer/Flickr (under CC BY 2.0)

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.