CHANGES IN COMMERCIAL ANIMAL PRODUCTION DURING POLAND’S EUROPEAN UNION MEMBERSHIP

<ns3:p>The paper analyzes changes in the structure of commercial animal production and animal products in Poland during the period of its membership in the European Union. The comparative spatial analysis was carried out at the regional level (voivodeships, NUTS-2) for the years 2003 and 2020-2022. The study shows that, throughout Poland’s EU membership, commercial animal production has consistently held a dominant position in the structure of agricultural market output, accounting for 55-62%. Milk, poultry, and pork were the main products of commercial animal production and, at the same time, the leading components of agricultural market output, although their development trends differed due to varying economic conditions in individual production sectors. Milk production had the largest share (17-19%) in agricultural market output. In the analyzed years, the importance of poultry production increased markedly, while pork production became increasingly marginalized. At the regional level, the Mazowieckie and Wielkopolskie voivodeships were the leading regions in terms of both total and per-unit value of animal production, followed also by Podlaskie and Łódzkie. However, in terms of the share of commercial animal production in total agricultural output, Podlaskie remains the undisputed leader in Poland, with a share exceeding 88%.</ns3:p>