Polish exports to Russia and Ukraine fell sharply in the first half of this year, illustrating the impact of a crisis which a minister in Warsaw has said will eat into domestic economic growth this year. Exports to Russia fell 10.7 percent year on year and exports to Ukraine - which borders Poland - were down 26.4 percent, statistics office data showed on Monday.
Exports to Russia accounted for 4.4 percent of the total, making it Poland's sixth largest export market. With tit-for-tat sanctions between the European Union and Russia coming into force in the second half, that percentage seems likely to fall. Earlier this month, Deputy Prime Minister Janusz Piechocinski said fallout from the sanctions would shave 0.6 percentage points off Poland's economic growth this year.
Poland recorded a 184 million euro ($246 million) trade deficit in the January-June period compared to a 505-million euro deficit in the first half of last year, the statistics office also said. In the first half, Poland's total exports rose an annual 5.4 percent to 80 billion euro, while imports rose 4.5 percent to 80.2 billion euro.
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