THE MEAT INDUSTRY IN POLAND

The meat industry in Poland in the years 1945-1989 was entirely centralized. The major producers of meat and meat products were state enterprises. The introduction of market economy in 1989 caused that within three consecutive years nearly 7 thousands new meat companies were created. The majority of them were small local establishments. The accession of Poland to the European Union resulted in the need to adapt our economy to the EU standards. These changes were connected with high costs. Not all meat processing plants met this challenge. The companies, which were not able to meet all requirements, had to shut down their business activity. Currently, there are less than 2,000 meat processing plants in the market.