The promotion of the Polish furniture industry is one of the events accompanying the Polish exhibition at the international EXPO 2017 in Astana. It will culminate with the Polish Furniture Day, which will take place on 13 July. The mission is attended by 7 Polish companies whose purpose is to establish new business contacts and develop cooperation with partners from Kazakhstan. Co-organizers of the event are: the Ministry of Development, the Polish Chamber of Commerce for Furniture Manufacturers, The Polish Development Fund, as well as entities belonging to the PFR Group: the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP), Export Credit Insurance Corporation Joint Stock Company (KUKE) and BGK.
The presence of Poland at the EXPO goes far beyond the standard part of the national exhibition. During the exhibition, many undertakings take place that affect improvement of economic relations and build the image of our country in the world. The promotion of Polish furniture is one of them. For the first time during the EXPO exhibition, events dedicated to the furniture industry only are being organized. Representatives of Polish enterprises will take part in business meetings with over 40 partners from Kazakhstan.
"We are using our presence at Astana Expo to improve economic contacts not only with Kazakhstan, but also with the whole region of Central Asia. We want to strengthen the presence of our companies in Asian markets, including the Kazakh market, to enable them to establish business contacts that will result in joint ventures in the future. This is supported, among others, by the economic mission of the furniture industry," said the Deputy Minister of Development, Jadwiga Emilewicz.
"The opportunity to establish business contacts with Polish entrepreneurs aroused great interest among local companies. Poland is among the top 10 furniture suppliers to Kazakhstan, but it is still a market of unused potential, where our entrepreneurs enjoy a positive opinion and trust. We hope that the meetings will result in lasting, multi-dimensional cooperation bringing many business benefits to both parties," said Tomasz Wiktorski, a manager of the Polish Furniture Program coordinated by The Polish Development Fund.
"The mission of the furniture industry to Kazakhstan is an important component of the entire economic program implemented by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development as part of the International Exposition EXPO 2017 in Astana. Its main purpose is to increase the scale of cooperation between Polish and Kazakh companies from various industries - in particular, companies from the small and medium-sized enterprise sector. The culmination of this program will be the Polish-Kazakh Economic Forum which will take place on 6 September 2017 in Astana. It is also worth remembering that Polish companies from the furniture industry are covered by a special industry promotion program of the Ministry of Development, and Kazakhstan is one of the target markets for activities promoting the export of companies of this sector," said Nina Dobrzyńska, the Deputy President of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development.
Kazakhstan is one of Poland's priority economic partners among eastern countries. Reasons for this include Kazachstan’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union, the capacity of its internal market, its wide program of public investment, the lack of visa requirements, and direct flights between Warsaw and Astana. Polish entrepreneurs emphasize its good geographical location and proximity with Russia, China and other countries of Central Asia. Commencement of cooperation with Kazakh companies may become a good starting point for building business relations in the entire region.
The Kazakh market is prospective in terms of Polish exports and investment placement. The value of exports of furniture from Poland to Kazakhstan in the record year of 2014 amounted to over USD 9 million, however in the next two years, it decreased to just USD 3.5 million due to lower import demand caused by a drop in oil prices and inflation. In 2017, the drop in exports to Kazakhstan slowed down, and the value of furniture supplies from Poland in the first quarter exceeded the result of the entire year 2016, already reaching USD 4 million.
The presence of Poland at the EXPO goes far beyond the standard part of the national exhibition. During the exhibition, many undertakings take place that affect improvement of economic relations and build the image of our country in the world. The promotion of Polish furniture is one of them. For the first time during the EXPO exhibition, events dedicated to the furniture industry only are being organized. Representatives of Polish enterprises will take part in business meetings with over 40 partners from Kazakhstan.
"We are using our presence at Astana Expo to improve economic contacts not only with Kazakhstan, but also with the whole region of Central Asia. We want to strengthen the presence of our companies in Asian markets, including the Kazakh market, to enable them to establish business contacts that will result in joint ventures in the future. This is supported, among others, by the economic mission of the furniture industry," said the Deputy Minister of Development, Jadwiga Emilewicz.
"The opportunity to establish business contacts with Polish entrepreneurs aroused great interest among local companies. Poland is among the top 10 furniture suppliers to Kazakhstan, but it is still a market of unused potential, where our entrepreneurs enjoy a positive opinion and trust. We hope that the meetings will result in lasting, multi-dimensional cooperation bringing many business benefits to both parties," said Tomasz Wiktorski, a manager of the Polish Furniture Program coordinated by The Polish Development Fund.
"The mission of the furniture industry to Kazakhstan is an important component of the entire economic program implemented by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development as part of the International Exposition EXPO 2017 in Astana. Its main purpose is to increase the scale of cooperation between Polish and Kazakh companies from various industries - in particular, companies from the small and medium-sized enterprise sector. The culmination of this program will be the Polish-Kazakh Economic Forum which will take place on 6 September 2017 in Astana. It is also worth remembering that Polish companies from the furniture industry are covered by a special industry promotion program of the Ministry of Development, and Kazakhstan is one of the target markets for activities promoting the export of companies of this sector," said Nina Dobrzyńska, the Deputy President of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development.
Kazakhstan is one of Poland's priority economic partners among eastern countries. Reasons for this include Kazachstan’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union, the capacity of its internal market, its wide program of public investment, the lack of visa requirements, and direct flights between Warsaw and Astana. Polish entrepreneurs emphasize its good geographical location and proximity with Russia, China and other countries of Central Asia. Commencement of cooperation with Kazakh companies may become a good starting point for building business relations in the entire region.
The Kazakh market is prospective in terms of Polish exports and investment placement. The value of exports of furniture from Poland to Kazakhstan in the record year of 2014 amounted to over USD 9 million, however in the next two years, it decreased to just USD 3.5 million due to lower import demand caused by a drop in oil prices and inflation. In 2017, the drop in exports to Kazakhstan slowed down, and the value of furniture supplies from Poland in the first quarter exceeded the result of the entire year 2016, already reaching USD 4 million.
