The President of the Management Board of Makarony Polskie SA Zenon Daniłowski took part in a debate at the annual Food Market and Trade Forum held at the Warsaw Sheraton Hotel on 5–6 November 2018. During the food and trade sector conference in Poland the possibility of exports development at the times of embargoes, protectionism and trade wars was discussed among other subjects.

The focus of the discussion was the care for the natural origin of products offered to the customers abroad, as associated with high quality, reliability and safety.

“Pasta is natural food, because it is manufactured from wheat or leguminous plants mixed with water. There are no unnatural processes in the production, so we may state that nearly all our pasta is natural food”, said Zenon Daniłowski.

“However, currently the very fact of natural origin of a product is no guarantee of success”, he mentioned. “For example, the highest margins in the pasta sector are generated not on traditional semolina-based pastas or soft-wheat pasta, but on new, innovative products which meet the changing trends.”

“For the production purposes Makarony Polskie processes mainly cereals. Currently on the market there is a huge variety of pastas made from buckwheat, spelt, rye or leguminous plants. There is also pasta made from lentils, chickpeas, or even peas. Makarony Polskie SA counts among the leading companies in Poland in manufacturing novelties based on domestic raw materials. Such products are now easier to sell”, he emphasised.

“It must be mentioned that consumers have more and more often been searching for new taste or aesthetic experiences. That is also related to the market trends. We consume food with all our senses, following for example TV celebrities”, said President Daniłowski. 

During the discussion, the protectionist practices frequently implemented in various countries, also in the EU, which hinder the entrance to the respective markets or remaining thereon, were assessed critically.

President Zeonon Daniłowski mentioned that in Middle East countries legal regulations changed so frequently that they had often surprised Polish manufacturers. “Therefore, the solution we have developed in that regard is that we do not export if we have no serious partner who assumes responsibility for the respective market, because entering distant markets requires significant expenditures, a lot of time and is related to very high risk”, he stated.