How to export food to Poland: a step-by-step guide for Asian manufacturers

Is Poland worth it?

Poland has about 37 million consumers and one of the largest food retail markets in Central Europe. Most groceries are sold by discount chains and supermarkets (Biedronka, Lidl, Kaufland, Dino, Netto, Aldi, Carrefour, Auchan) and by convenience stores such as Żabka. Asian food reaches them through importers and distributors, through specialist Asian wholesalers, and through online shops.

The figures below are official EU trade statistics for imports into Poland. They count only goods cleared through customs in Poland: products cleared in Rotterdam or Hamburg and resold to Poland are counted as Dutch or German trade, so Polish shelves carry more Asian food than these numbers show. See Market data for every product line, by country and month.

Step 1. Find your product code and the duty

Everything at the border starts with the product code: the 8-digit EU Combined Nomenclature code (the first 6 digits are the international HS code). Ask your freight forwarder or the Polish importer to confirm it; a wrong code means a wrong duty and sometimes the wrong set of checks.

Look up the duty for your code and country of origin in the European Commission's free Access2Markets tool. It shows the standard (MFN) duty, any preferential duty under a trade agreement or the GSP scheme, and any anti-dumping duty. A preferential duty is granted only with a valid proof of origin, so agree with your buyer who prepares it before you ship.

Poland charges import VAT at customs. Most food is taxed at the reduced 5% rate, some products at 8% or 23%; the importer pays it and normally deducts it in the VAT return. Our Duties page explains where each country's agreement stands.

Step 2. Check that your recipe is allowed in the EU

The EU allows only the additives listed in Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, and only in the food categories and amounts listed there. A colour or preservative that is legal at home can be banned in the EU, or allowed in one product but not another. Check every E-number against the EU list for your exact product category.

• Colours. Six colours (E102, E104, E110, E122, E124, E129) need the warning “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children” on the label.
• Pesticide residues. The EU sets a maximum residue limit for each pesticide and crop (Regulation (EC) No 396/2005). Where no limit exists, a default of 0.01 mg/kg applies. Some pesticides still used in Asia are not approved in the EU at all.
• Contaminants. Limits for aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, heavy metals, 3-MCPD in oils and other contaminants are in Regulation (EU) 2023/915.
• Ethylene oxide is banned in EU food. It caused hundreds of EU alerts for spices, sesame, instant noodles and food supplements since 2020, and it can come in through a single ingredient or additive.
• New ingredients. A plant, extract or ingredient that was not eaten in the EU before May 1997 is a “novel food” and needs EU authorisation first.

The simplest protection: send a sample of the finished product to an accredited laboratory and test it against EU limits before your first shipment, then test every lot. Polish buyers often ask for these reports.

Step 3. Plant-based or animal-based? This decides the route

Plant-based foods (fruit products, sweets without milk or egg, noodles without egg or meat, sauces without fish, rice, spices, tea, coffee) clear customs normally. The Polish sanitary inspection (Sanepid) can sample them on import. Some products from some countries are on the EU list of foods with more frequent border checks (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1793): they must enter through a designated border post, and some need an official certificate and lab results from your country. Check your product and country in the current list before you book a shipment.

Foods of animal origin (fish, seafood, fish sauce, dairy, egg, meat, honey, gelatine) follow a stricter route:

1. Your country must be on the EU list for that product group (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/405), and your plant must be on the EU list of approved establishments. Your national inspection authority applies for the listing.
2. Each consignment travels with an official health certificate issued in your country, in the EU model.
3. The importer announces the consignment in the EU's TRACES system before it arrives.
4. The goods enter through an EU border control post (in Poland, for example, at the ports of Gdańsk and Gdynia), where the veterinary inspection checks documents and the goods.

Composite products mix plant ingredients with processed animal ingredients, for example biscuits with milk powder or noodles with egg. The rules depend on what the animal ingredient is and whether the product is shelf-stable: some need a certificate and a border check, many shelf-stable ones need only a “private attestation” signed by the importer, and a list of low-risk products is exempt from border checks (updated by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/908 from 23 July 2026). Products containing meat or meat extract always need an approved origin for that meat.

Step 4. A label in Polish

Food sold to consumers in Poland must carry the mandatory information in Polish. The content of the label is set by Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011:

• product name (a descriptive name in Polish, not only the brand),
• ingredients in descending order of weight, with the percentage of characterising ingredients,
• the 14 EU allergens, emphasised in the ingredient list (bold or capitals),
• nutrition declaration per 100 g or 100 ml (energy, fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein, salt),
• net quantity, best-before or use-by date, storage conditions,
• name and address of the EU food business responsible (usually the Polish importer),
• country of origin where leaving it out could mislead, and the lot number.

Many importers put a Polish sticker on the original pack when the goods arrive. That is accepted if the sticker is durable, legible and does not hide anything required. For retail chains it is better to print a multilingual pack that already includes Polish. Retailers also need an EAN-13 barcode (from GS1) on every consumer unit.

Step 5. Packaging rules

• EU packaging regulation (PPWR). Since 12 August 2026 packaging placed on the EU market needs a declaration of conformity and technical documentation, and food-contact packaging must not contain PFAS above the set limits. Ask your packaging supplier for the documents. Recyclability grades follow from 2030.
• Food-contact materials. Plastics, inks and coatings that touch food must meet EU food-contact rules (Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 and, for plastics, Regulation (EU) No 10/2011).
• Packaging fees in Poland. The company that introduces packaged goods to the Polish market registers in the national BDO database and reports and pays for the packaging. This is normally the importer.
• Drinks deposit. Since 1 October 2025 plastic bottles, cans and reusable glass bottles of drinks sold in Poland carry a deposit and a deposit symbol (see our drinks guide).
• Wooden pallets must be heat-treated and marked under the international ISPM 15 standard.

Step 6. Your partner in Poland

A factory outside the EU cannot place food on the EU market by itself. The Polish importer files the customs declaration (with its EORI number), must be registered as a food business with its local sanitary inspection before the first import, and is legally responsible for the product: if something is wrong, the authorities contact the importer.

Food supplements, fortified foods and foods for special medical purposes must also be notified to the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate (GIS) before they are first sold in Poland.

Typical partners are importer-distributors, wholesalers, specialist Asian food importers, and retail chains buying private-label products through tenders. Our guide How to find a distributor in Poland explains who does what, and the Directory lists Polish importers, distributors, customs agents and labs.

Step 7. Shipping and documents

Containers from Asia reach Poland directly at the deep-water terminal in Gdańsk or the port of Gdynia, or via Rotterdam or Hamburg and then by truck or rail. A typical document set:

• commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading,
• proof of origin, if you claim a preferential duty,
• health certificate (animal products) or official certificate and lab report (products on the increased-checks list),
• catch certificate for wild-caught fish and seafood,
• lab reports, specification and label proof, which the buyer will usually want before the order.

Agree the Incoterm with your buyer early. Under FOB or CIF the Polish importer handles customs, checks and inland transport; under DAP or DDP you carry more of the risk at the EU border.

The most common reasons shipments are stopped

The EU publishes every food problem it finds in the RASFF alert system. For Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and India the main causes are pesticide residues on fruit, vegetables, spices and tea; mycotoxins (aflatoxins, ochratoxin A) in spices and nuts from poor drying and storage; ethylene oxide; veterinary drug residues in farmed fish and shrimp; heavy metals; Salmonella; unauthorised additives; and undeclared allergens. A rejected container is usually destroyed or sent back at the exporter's or importer's cost.

Each country guide shows the latest alerts for that country, and the Market data pages list the latest border alerts by product.

Rules coming next

• 30 December 2026: the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) applies to large and medium companies. Coffee, cocoa (including chocolate), palm oil, soy, rubber, cattle and wood products need a due-diligence statement with the geolocation of the farms. Micro and small companies follow on 30 June 2027.
• Trade agreements: EU–Indonesia (CEPA) is expected to enter into force in early 2027; EU–India was concluded on 27 January 2026 and still has to be signed and ratified; EU–Thailand is under negotiation.
• Packaging: EU-wide packaging labels and recyclability grades are phased in from 2028–2030.

We follow every change that matters for food exporters to Poland in the Regulatory digest.

What Poland imports: latest figures