Direct Sales Of Products Of Animal Origin In Poland

The purpose of this paper was to determine the scale and product categories involved in direct sales of food of animal origin and small scale agricultural retail trade as well as an analysis of direct sales covering the period from October 2016 to August 2019. The European Commission promotes short food supply chains, recommending that Member States simplify rules regulating direct selling. In 2017, Poland simplified the law on the sale of processed and unprocessed food of animal and non- -animal origin by farmers. The study focused on farms run by farmers involved in the direct sales of products of animal origin and small scale agricultural retail trade. Such activity must be reported to the General Veterinary Inspectorate (GIW). The analysis showed that the direct sales of food products are developing and involve an increasing number of producers offering produce. Compared to 2016, the number of entities involved in registered direct sales increased by 28.5%. The categories of products most often sold through direct sales involve – unprocessed bee products, table eggs and fishery, while small scale agricultural retail trade mostly focused on table eggs, unprocessed bee products, dairy products, raw milk and meat products.