Poland's gross domestic product amounted to a little over PLN 396.7bn (approx. €100bn) in the fourth quarter of 2010, which in real terms translates into growth of 4.4% compared with the same period a year ago, according to a preliminary estimate from the Central Statistical Office (GUS). The result was better than in Q3 and in line with market expectations.

The main growth-supporting factor was domestic demand, which contributed 5.6 percentage points to GDP growth in Q4 (of this, consumption delivered 3.2 p.p. while gross capital formation 2.4 p.p., mostly thanks to stock rebuilding). The contribution of net exports was negative at -1.2 p.p.

In January GUS published a preliminary estimate of GDP growth in 2010 as a whole, which put growth last year at 3.8%. We forecast that in 2011 the Polish economy will expand by about 4%.

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Pilkington Automotive, the global glass manufacturer, has revealed the details of a PLN 350m (approx. €88m) project to significantly expand its manufacturing operations in Southern Poland, in the Tarnobrzeg Special Economic Zone. The investment will bring 400 new jobs.

The project will be realised in two stages. First, Pilkington will lease and equip three production halls in Machow (Podkarpackie voivodship) with combined area of 5,000 m2, which will employ 80 people when production gets underway there in June 2011. Second, the company will erect a 60,000 m2 production and warehousing complex in nearby Chmielow, which will start operations next year and will reach full capacity in 2013. The Machow unit will increase the company's annual production capacity of car windscreens by 1.7 million units, the other will increase its capacity of side and rear windows by 4-5 million. Apart from boosting the overall capacity of laminated and hardened windows, the project will also significantly lift production of value-added products.

The new complex will be located only 30 km away from Pilkington's factory in Sandomierz (Swietokrzyskie voivodship), whose expansion – an option the company preferred – was abandoned because of flooding concerns. But Sandomierz will remain its operating centre in Poland.

The total value of the project is PLN 450m (€113m), with the remaining PLN 100m (€25m) to be invested by the property developer.

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In January Poland’s exports of goods were worth €9.3bn while imports totalled €9.4bn, according to preliminary data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS). This translates into nominal increases of 17.3% y-o-y and 9% y-o-y, respectively. As a result, the country’s foreign trade deficit narrowed by nearly 85% compared with a year earlier, and amounted to just -€0.1bn.

Poland’s trade balance with developed countries, including with the countries of the European Union, improved significantly over this period, showing surpluses of €2.2bn and €2.3bn, respectively. By contrast, there were higher deficits in trade with developing countries and with the countries of Southern and Eastern Europe, totalling -€1.4bn and -€0.9bn, respectively.

Of Poland’s main trading partners, the highest increases occurred in exports to the Netherlands (up by 30.7% y-o-y), Germany (up by 20.2% y-o-y) and Sweden (up by 19% y-o-y). By contrast, exports to Hungary inched up by 2.5% y-o-y and exports to Spain were up by 3.9% y-o-y. Significantly, exports to Russia, which has long been one of the fastest-growing export destinations, increased by a modest 6.1% y-o-y.

Imports from Russia again rose at by far the highest rate (up by 40.5% y-o-y), with China in distant second at 12.3% y-o-y, followed by the US at 10.7% y-o-y. Imports from four countries were lower than in January 2010: from Italy by 14.9% y-o-y, from South Korea by 10.7% y-o-y, from France by 7% y-o-y and from the Netherlands by 5.7% y-o-y.

By way of comparison, in 2010 as a whole Polish exports of goods grew by 19.5% (at current prices), while imports rose by 21.7%. This translated into a foreign trade deficit of almost €13.5bn, i.e. around 3.8% of GDP.

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Polish Tourism Institute forecasts an increase in the number of tourists flowing into Poland this year, including those coming for medical reasons. According to the Polish Association of Medical Tourism (PSTM) 280,000 patients may come to Poland in 2011. "We expect the sector's revenues to reach PLN 780 million" PSTM president Artur Gosk tells "Rzeczpospolita." Medical tourism is to receive financial aid from the Ministry of the Economy as part of support for Polish export products. Subsidies are to come from two sources - a national scheme for the promotion of chosen segments of the economy, which amounts to PLN 64 million. The money will be equally divided between 15 sectors, therefore medical tourism should receive a little over PLN 4.1 million. The second scheme contains PLN 150 million and will be distributed unevenly, "Rzeczpospolita" notes. The Ministry of the Economy expects to announce the tender this month. Polish organizers of medical tourism are already looking for partners.

In January, PSTM invited representatives of American One Global Med, a company sending US citizens for medical treatments in South America and Asia. Americans visited Szpital Damiana hospital, Medicover Hospital, Carolina Medical Centre, Mavit Medical Centre, Rehabilitation Centre in Konstancin and the European Health Centre in Otwock, "Rzeczpospolita" notes. "It turned out however that the costs of acquiring patients from the USA are too high. American partners expect us to spend USD 75,000 per year for promotion. There is also the necessity to obtain suitable certificates" Dariusz Dąbrowski, marketing director at PSTM told "Rzeczpospolita." "In this situation we will currently focus on European markets: Germany, UK and Scandinavia" he adds.

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According to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, the statement was made at a meeting between Georgian Minister Grigol Vashadze and his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski in Warsaw.

"They stressed that the situation in the conflict regions should be resolved only by peaceful means," the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.

The meeting also addressed issues of deepening bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as political and economic cooperation. The sides noted the importance of the progress achieved by Georgia in terms of its approximation with the EU.

The meeting also touched upon the need for further cooperation in the international format. The sides stressed the importance of paying high-level visits in the near future and continuing consultations between Georgia's and Poland's foreign ministries.

Vashadze thanked his Polish counterpart for his assistance to Georgia, as well as for his support and invited him to pay an official visit to Georgia.

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