October 26, 2010

Polish meat firms struggle with local demand

The revenue of Polish pork producers on the local market may have dropped to 10% within the first three quarters of 2010, mainly due to low prices and lower demand.

One of the companies affected by the trend is meat producer PKM Duda. The company expects a decline in revenue in the second half of the year, although this year the company is not so much in pursuit of higher sales but aims to reduce costs and improve profitability, said CEO Maciej Duda.

An analyst quoted by the daily remarked that the company's restructuring was effective, as the expected results for Q3 are good. At the same time, other market players have less optimistic forecasts.

The red meat producer segment estimates that its revenue dropped 5%-10% in that time. Lmeat, the leading producer of pork and beef in Poland, saw its sales decrease by 10% in the three quarters. In 2009, sales amounted to PLN600 million (US$213.14 million).