<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Only 20 years ago, Poland was self-sufficient in pig production, being one of the key players in the Euro- pean pig market. Since then a growing specialization of Poland in pig finishing and meat processing has been observed, while the domestic production of piglets has declined. As a consequence, Poland has lost its self-sufficiency in pig production and become strongly dependent on imports of piglets, mainly from Denmark. The aim of this paper is to summarize the evolution of the Polish pig industry and specify the main determinants of the Polish imports of Danish piglets. The results of the estimates using the vector error correction model (VECM) show that the volume of the Polish imports of piglets from Denmark may be explained by a degree of specialization of Poland in pig finishing, the phase of pig cycle, and the competitiveness of Polish pork. The results may be helpful in understanding the evolution of the Polish pig industry and its growing dependence on imports of piglets.
</abstract>

Polish Finishers from Danish Piglets: Uncontrolled Transformation of Pig Industry in Poland

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The aim of the article is to assess the impact of changes in excise duty rates on prices, consumption, and tax revenue to the state budget on the development of the domestic tobacco industry. The study was conducted, among other things, using methods of statistical comparative analysis, dynamics of the main elements of the market, exponential regression analysis, and analysis of selected financial ratios. The research shows that between 2010 and 2021 the tobacco industry in Poland developed very dynamically due to foreign direct investments and competitiveness on the EU market. Fiscal policy determined prices of tobacco products, as indirect taxes dominated the structure of retail prices. The increasing rates of excise duty resulted in a decrease in cigarette consumption, which was compensated by an increase in the consumption of innovative products. The effectiveness of fiscal policy is also confirmed by the growing budget revenues and reducing the shadow economy in the internal market. In recent years, however, consumer income has been growing faster than the prices of tobacco products, which has resulted in their better affordability. In conclusion, between 2022 and 2027, excise tax rates will gradually increase due to the harmonization of the national tax law with the regulations in force in the European Union. The increase in excise duty rates will determine the production and sale of tobacco products, which will adapt to demand conditions. Higher rates of excise tax will result in an increase in the prices of tobacco products and state budget revenues from indirect taxes.
</abstract>

Department of Agricultural Markets and Quantitative Methods

Economic Effects of Changes in the Excise Tax on Tobacco Products in Poland

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Progressive climate change triggers off phenomena that threaten agricultural production. Crop insurance makes it possible to mitigate their effects, but only a small percentage of crops in Poland is insured. Previous research into the determinants of farmers'participation in the production insurance system has mainly used the logit regression method. This paper presents the results of a study using a structural equation model (SEM) estimated for a sample of 600 farms in the FADN observation field, which aimed to identify factors influencing farmers’ purchase of production insurance. This research approach made it possible to describe the phenomenon in a way that has been little recognized so far, complementing the decision-making model under consideration with latent variables that could not be considered by the methods used so far. Based on the literature research, three unobservable variables were identified: willingness to purchase insurance, risk aversion and risk perception, and farming intensity, and then quantified using observable variables. The results show a directly proportional relationship between willingness to purchase insurance and risk aversion and risk perception and inversely proportional relationship with farming intensity.
</abstract>

Determinants of Farmers’ Participation in the Production Insurance System

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The article contains characteristics of farms implementing agri-environment-climate measures in diverse natural conditions defined by the valorization index of agricultural production area. Considering the farm size, three types of the conditions were distinguished: difficult, average, and favorable. Attention was focused on the production potential of farms, their human capital, and economic situation. The subject of the research was a group of 1,175 individual farms covered by the Polish FADN, which implemented agri-environment-climate measures under the 2014–2020 common agricultural policy between 2018 and 2020. It was not a representative sample for the entire population of farms implementing the above-mentioned measures. Farms operating in difficult habitat conditions had a lower production potential (agricultural area, economic size, capital, and capital–labor ratio). The share of farmers with agricultural education was also lower in the group. As a result, income from such farms was lower, the fixed assets replacement rate was lower and the farm was incapable of competing on the domestic market. The ability was demonstrated only by farms functioning in favorable habitat conditions. The share of payments in the income of the analyzed farms was also higher, on average, by 21.7 p.p., as compared to the average share of payments in the income of other farms with a similar agricultural area. The study shows that there is a very large share of subsidies in the income of the groups of farms implemetnting agri-environment-climate measures and a clear positive connection between longer working hours (at least 2120 hours per year) of the farm manager with the economic situation of the farm.
</abstract>

Farms and their Holders Implementing Agri-Environment-Climate Measures

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The main aim of the study was to identify current problems encountered by the Polish producers of products registered under the PDO, PGI, and TSG labels and develop a set of recommendations that may support the development of the market of FQS products in Poland. The study findings showed that many factors are disrupting the functioning of the Polish market of FQS products and are related to product specificities, market relevance, supply chain governance, legitimacy, and law enforcement. The majority of products is characterized by a low value added, which makes it difficult to distinguish them on the market and therefore protect against counterfeit. There are also products with greater value added, but the lack of farmers’ collective action reduces the potential effect that could result from the economy of scale. Furthermore, a limited number of certified producers and small cultivation areas constraint the use of effective marketing strategies, hindering producers’ ability to gain more visibility for their produce. Consequently, Polish FQS producers cannot create more profitable market niches, often selling their certified products at regular market prices without the expected price premium. Moreover, FQS labels are also not recognized well by consumers, which indicates a serious problem of information asymmetry in the value chain. In order to improve the FQS sales in Poland, a joint commitment of the public administration agencies and producers is necessary in terms of providing support to producers in the process of developing applications, introducing the system for monitoring FQS distribution and reporting counterfeits, creating an umbrella association of certified producers acting on behalf of all the participants of the system. Moreover, producers are encouraged to increase the scale of production, introduce common packaging and joint promotional activities, as well as joint sales and distribution in order to avoid producer–producer competition and to strengthen producers bargaining position in the food supply chain.
</abstract>

Phd, DSc, Assoc. Prof. of Warsaw University of Life Sciences

PhD, DSc, ProfTit, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Institute of Economics and Finance

Department of Economics and Organisation of Enterprises

Unlocking the Potential of the European Union Quality Schemes for Polish Regional and Traditional Food Products

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 378 (2024): Issue 1 (March 2024)

Volume 377 (2023): Issue 4 (December 2023)

Volume 376 (2023): Issue 3 (September 2023)

Volume 375 (2023): Issue 2 (June 2023)

Volume 374 (2023): Issue 1 (March 2023)

Volume 373 (2022): Issue 4 (December 2022)

Volume 372 (2022): Issue 3 (September 2022)

Volume 371 (2022): Issue 2 (June 2022)

Volume 370 (2022): Issue 1 (March 2022)

Zagadnienia Ekonomiki Rolnej

 The quarterly Zagadnienia Ekonomiki Rolnej / Problems of Agricultural Economics is the oldest and most representative journal in Poland dealing with agri-food economics and related disciplines. Since its beginning, it has been the main forum for presenting the key scientific and research findings, fuelling scientific disputes, forming new theories and concepts of practical solutions, conducting discussions around the methodology of scientific research. Published articles are dedicated to the fields of agricultural economics and policy, food industry and trade, rural areas development, globalization and regionalization, sustainability, environment protection, bioeconomy, climate changes, innovations and digital technologies, risk management and insurances, as well as finance and marketing.   The journal reaches out to many foreign research centres to serve as an important tool for exchange of information on current directions in research between the Polish and international readership. With contribution from leading international scholars, the journal promotes new developments in research and methods of analysis.     Preference is given to original articles that test, extend or build strong theoretical frameworks while empirically investigating the issues. All empirical methods, including, but not limited to, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed ones, are welcome.     The journal publishes full-texts of papers in Open Access. All papers are made available under the Creative Commons CC BY (Attribution) international license. The papers available on the website from 2014 are in Polish and English. Since 2016, the primary version of the journal has been the online English version. The website www.zer.waw.pl features full texts of papers published from 2009 as well as other selected archival issues.     The Publisher of the journal – Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics National Research Institute – is a member of Crossref; therefore all articles published in the journal are assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Moreover, the Editorial Team uses the Crossref Similarity Check.     The journal is indexed in the following databases: Web of Science (Emerging Sources Citation Index), CABI, ERIH Plus, Agro, BazEkon, CeON, CEJSH, SIGŻ, AgEcon Search, SSRN, and ICI Journals Master List.     According to the Communication from the Minister for Education and Science dated 1 December 2021 concerning the list of scientific journals and materials from international conferences, the journal Zagadnienia Ekonomiki Rolnej / Problems of Agricultural Economics scored 40 points.     There is no charge for submitting to the journal.     NOTE: Polish authors are requested to submit their manuscripts in both Polish and English.   Archiving   Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.   Plagiarism Policy   The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 