That dollar amount reflects a 49.6% increase compared to five years earlier in 2020 when Polish exports totaled $254.2 billion.
Year over year, the value of Poland’s exports grew by 7.2% from $354.7 billion during 2023.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2024, the Polish złoty rose in value by 5.5% against the US dollar from 2023 to 2024. Poland’s stronger local currency since 2023 makes its exports paid for in weaker US dollars relatively more expensive for international buyers starting from American currency.
Poland’s Main Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 71.2% of products exported from Poland was bought by importers in: Germany (27.1% of the Polish total), Czech Republic (6.1%), France (6.08%), United Kingdom (5.3%), Netherlands (4.61%), Italy (4.55%), Ukraine (3.7%), United States of America (3.3%), Spain (2.9%), Slovakia (2.7%), Hungary (2.5%) and Sweden (2.4%).
From a continental perspective, 87.7% of Poland’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 5.7% was sold to importers in Asia. Poland shipped another 4.4% worth of goods to customers in North America.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in Africa (1.3%), Latin America (0.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.3%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Poland has been a member of the European Union since May 1, 2004. Fellow EU members bought 74.2% of all products sold by Poland .
Given Poland’s population of 36.6 million people, its total $380.3 billion in 2024 exports translates to roughly $10,400 for every resident in the Central European country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $10,150 per capita for 2023.
Poland’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Polish global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Poland.
- Machinery including computers: US$50.4 billion (13.3% of total exports)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $44 billion (11.6%)
- Vehicles: $41.2 billion (10.8%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $18 billion (4.7%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting , signs, prefab buildings: $17.6 billion (4.6%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $11.8 billion (3.1%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $9.8 billion (2.6%)
- Meat: $8.9 billion (2.3%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $8.3 billion (2.2%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $7.6 billion (2%)
Poland’s top 10 export product categories generated 57.2% of the overall value of total Polish shipments.
Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs and prefabricated buildings represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 48.3% from 2023 to 2024.
In second place for improving export sales was the unknitted or non-crocheted clothing and accessories grouping via a 44.4% advance.
Poland’s shipments of meat posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 9.4%.
The leading decliner among Poland’s top 10 export categories was mineral fuels including oil, recording a -14.2% year-over-year drop.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, Poland’s most valuable export products are automobile parts or accessories (5% of Poland’s total exports), trucks (2.1%), computers including optical readers (2%), electric storage batteries (also 2%), cars (1.9%), seats (1.9%) excluding barber and dentist chairs, miscellaneous furniture (also 1.9%), turbo-jets (1.6%), TV receivers, monitors or projectors (1.5%), cigars, then cigarellos and cigarettes (1.3%).
Countries Generating Biggest Trade Surpluses for Poland
Poland generated an overall US$837.1 million trade surplus in 2024, shrinking by -93.7% from $13.3 billion in black ink one year earlier for 2023.
The following types of Polish product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefab buildings: US$12.2 billion (Up by 26.3% since 2023)
- Meat: $6.5 billion (Up by 13.7%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $4.3 billion (Down by -7%)
- Wood: $4.1 billion (Up by 61%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $3.8 billion (Down by -7.6%)
- Machinery including computers: $3.6 billion (Down by -25.2%)
- Cereal/milk preparations: $3.3 billion (Up by 8%)
- Meat/seafood preparations: $3 billion (Up by 7.8%)
- Copper: $2.9 billion (Up by 9.6%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $2.1 billion (Up by 4.1%)
Historically Poland has highly positive net exports in the international trade of chairs, mattresses, prefabricated buildings and lighting-related goods. In turn, these cashflows indicate Poland’s strong competitive advantages under the related product category.
Countries Causing Worst Trade Deficits for Poland
Below are exports from Poland that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Poland’s goods trail Polish importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$19 billion (Down by -12.3% since 2023)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$7.3 billion (Up by 58.2%)
- Iron, steel: -$6.4 billion (Down by -3.9%)
- Organic chemicals: -$2.7 billion (Up by 1.6%)
- Inorganic chemicals: -$2.2 billion (Down by -45.3%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: -$1.76 billion (Up by 37.6%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$1.41 billion (Reversing a $9.4 billion surplus)
- Fruits, nuts: -$1.38 billion (Up by 34.5%)
- Ores, slag, ash: -$1.34 billion (Up by 0.2%)
- Arms, ammunition: -$1.31 billion (Up by 12.1%)
Poland has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for mineral fuels-related products notably from buying and selling crude oil on global markets.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Poland’s competitive disadvantages in the international energy market, but also represent key opportunities for Poland to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations particularly alternative energy sources.
Poland’s Major Export Companies
Seven corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000. Below is a sample of the major Polish companies that Forbes included.
- KGHM Polska Miedz (diversified metals, mining)
- Pgnig Group (oil, gas)
- PKN Orlen (oil, gas)
Global trade intelligence firm Zepol mentions the following companies as examples of Polish export companies.
- Cimir Poland (seats, furniture parts)
- Nexter Automotive Poland S P Zoo (steering mechanisms, synchronous belts, goods transportation vehicles)
- Radiatym Bogdar Tymkiewicz (iron and stainless steel fittings, frozen fish fillets, palmitic/stearic acid)
- Tristone Flowtech Poland (tubes/pipes/hoses, latex, rubber transmission belts)
In macroeconomic terms, Poland’s total exported goods represent 20.1% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($1.891 trillion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 20.1% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 compares to 22.3% for 2023. This suggests a decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Poland’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Poland’s unemployment rate averaged 3.161% for 2024, up from an average 2.82% jobless rate in 2023 to International Monetary Fund statistics.
Poland’s capital city is Warsaw.
See also Poland’s Top Trading Partners, Poland’s Top 10 Imports, Czech Republic’s Top Trading Partners and Germany’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on April 3, 2025
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 3, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on April 3, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 3, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 3, 2025
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on April 3, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Poland. Accessed on April 3, 2025
Wikipedia, Poland. Accessed on April 3, 2025
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on April 3, 2025
X-rates.com, Exchange Rates: Polish Zloty to US Dollar (monthly average 2024). Accessed on April 3, 2025
Zepol’s company summary highlights by country. Accessed on April 3, 2025