Why this senior economist thinks Europe has a ‘new export powerhouse’

A shot taken in Krakow, in southern Poland. (Photo by Jade/Pexels)

Poland is the new export powerhouse of Europe, according to a senior economist.

Daniel Kral, Senior Economist at Oxford Economics, tweeted about the central European country’s transformation over the last two decades.

“Impressive how Poland's trade balance has gone from a large deficit 20 years ago to a large surplus now - even surpassing Germany. Exports of goods and services now make up 65% of Poland's GDP, up from 25% in 2000,” he posted.

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“Poland is the new export powerhouse of Europe,” he added.

Sharing the above graph, Kral stated, “Poland is special *rocket emoji*”

Poland is one of only two countries in the region that has “significantly expanded goods trade surpluses versus 2019, despite higher costs of imported energy”, he wrote. The other country is Denmark. Otherwise, it is services that have been driving small South European economies’ growth.

“Surpluses on services trade have tended to grow in small South European economies, driving their growth outperformance,” wrote Kral.

He shared how outsourcing to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has been a win-win for the region and for Western Europe.

He wrote, “In the last 20 years CEE became the manufacturing hub of Europe thanks to EU integration (stable predictable institutions) and foreign multinationals. Unlike in the US, there was no political backlash in Western Europe/Germany against outsourcing to CEE. It has been a win-win”.