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Abstract
Integration of Polish agriculture is recognized as a success. Nevertheless some remarkable difficulties have
emerged. Some of them are related to low production quotas in dairy, sugar and starch sectors.
Authors of this Poster argue that the level of starch quota inscribed for Poland is incompatible with the principle of fair
competition on the inner EU market. The quota ceiling of mere 145 thousand tons is a heavy constraint to the processing
plants – their total processing capacities are estimated for some 220-260 thousand tons. Therefore, they are utilized in c. 56-
66 %, leading to the increase of unit costs of starch production of about 9,2 % and decrease of the competitiveness.
Another point is the ratio of the quota to the volume of harvests: 0,1121 for Denmark, 0,057 for Germany and (only) 0,0131
for Poland. Furthermore, the domestic consumption of starch products in Poland is two-fold bigger than the quota with
resultant increase of importation. Paradoxically, such practices are pronounced in spite of unutilized natural resources of
Polish agriculture – high proportion of light soils. The temporary solution is to increase the quota – the long-run one is to
rethink the concept of quota system – under the new CAP reform.