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IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘Poland – Vodka – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends And Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

The revenue of the vodka market in Poland amounted to $403M in 2018, lowering by -2.2% against the previous year. This figure reflects the total revenues of producers and importers (excluding logistics costs, retail marketing costs, and retailers’ margins, which will be included in the final consumer price).

Production in Poland

In 2018, approx. 98M litres of vodka were produced in Poland; therefore, remained relatively stable against the previous year. In general, vodka production, however, continues to indicate a moderate decrease. Vodka production peaked at 109M litres in 2013; however, from 2014 to 2018, production remained at a lower figure.

Exports from Poland

Vodka exports from Poland amounted to 47M litres in 2018, an increase of 4.9% against the previous year. In value terms, exports amounted to $160M (IndexBox estimates).

Exports by Country

France (15M litres), the U.S. (13M litres) and Canada (2M litres) were the main destinations of vodka exports from Poland, with a combined 62% share of total exports. These countries were followed by Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, Ukraine, the UK, Italy, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Slovakia, which together accounted for a further 24%.

From 2013 to 2018, the most notable rate of growth in terms of exports, amongst the main countries of destination, was attained by Bulgaria, while exports for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, France ($99M) remains the key foreign market for vodka exports from Poland, comprising 62% of total vodka exports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by the U.S. ($21M), with a 13% share of total exports. It was followed by Canada, with a 2.8% share.

From 2013 to 2018, the average annual rate of growth in terms of value to France amounted to +3.6%. Exports to the other major destinations recorded the following average annual rates of exports growth: the U.S. (-9.2% per year) and Canada (-2.5% per year).

Export Prices by Country

The average vodka export price stood at $3.4 per litre in 2018, approximately mirroring the previous year. Over the last five-year period, it increased at an average annual rate of +1.5%. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2014 when the average export price increased by 23% against the previous year. In that year, the average export prices for vodka reached their peak level of $3.8 per litre. From 2015 to 2018, the growth in terms of the average export prices for vodka remained at a somewhat lower figure.

There were significant differences in the average prices for the major foreign markets. In 2018, the country with the highest price was France ($6.8 per litre), while the average price for exports to Ukraine ($0.8 per litre) was amongst the lowest.

From 2013 to 2018, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was recorded for supplies to France, while the prices for the other major destinations experienced more modest paces of growth.

Imports into Poland

Vodka imports into Poland amounted to 17M litres in 2018, surging by 2.7% against the previous year. In value terms, imports stood at $46M (IndexBox estimates) in 2018.

Imports by Country

Finland (7.2M litres), Lithuania (3.6M litres) and Sweden (2.6M litres) were the main suppliers of vodka imports to Poland, with a combined 78% share of total imports. Ukraine, the UK, Russia and Austria lagged somewhat behind, together accounting for a further 16%.

From 2013 to 2018, the most notable rate of growth in terms of imports, amongst the main suppliers, was attained by Austria, while imports for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, Finland ($22M) constituted the largest supplier of vodka to Poland, comprising 47% of total vodka imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by Lithuania ($8.1M), with a 18% share of total imports. It was followed by Sweden, with a 16% share.

Import Prices by Country

The average vodka import price stood at $2.7 per litre in 2018, surging by 4.1% against the previous year.

There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major supplying countries. In 2018, the country with the highest price was Austria ($4.4 per litre), while the price for Russia ($1.7 per litre) was amongst the lowest.

From 2013 to 2018, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Ukraine, while the prices for the other major suppliers experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox AI Platform

Now that we are at the height of holiday festivities, shopping, and celebrations, we are seeing purchases begin to rack up for employees. Are any sneaking into their expenses?

We looked at millions of expenses from our aggregated, anonymized, direct customer data from December of last year to identify trends in unauthorized (as in, out-of-policy) spend being submitted for reimbursement during the holiday season. Below are our findings.

Gifts

According to the National Retail Federation, spending on gifts is expected to surpass $730B this year, an all-time high. So it’s no surprise that it was also the biggest area of unauthorized spend last year. In fact, our AI identified over $783,000 of out-of-policy gifts, which is nearly 9x the monthly average of out-of-policy gift spend we caught the rest of the year. In contrast, the approved gift spend in December was $134,000.

Meals

According to the Deloitte 2019 holiday retail survey, holiday shoppers are spending significantly more on experiences, including socializing with family and friends. This trend is consistent with our data on unauthorized business meals, which in December of last year spiked to $52M, which is 7x higher than the monthly average of the rest of the year.

Alcohol

Americans double their drinking during the holidays, according to BeverageDaily. Even more dramatically, we saw unauthorized alcohol spending in December of last year quintuple from the average for the rest of the months. These aren’t small expenses, either. The average incident of unauthorized alcohol spend was $573, which is 6x the monthly average of unauthorized alcohol spend during the rest of the year, and 12x the amount of authorized alcohol spend in December.

Gratuities

According to a Consumer Report survey, 60 percent of Americans tipped their service providers during the holidays last year, averaging $45 per person. While the holidays are certainly an appropriate time to show your appreciation, unauthorized gratuities in December of last year was a whopping 109x higher than the monthly average of unauthorized gratuity spend.

While we don’t recommend extinguishing the atmosphere of holiday cheer with a strict expense policy this season (there’s certainly a benefit to rewarding employees and adopting expense policies to recognize their hard work), there’s a limit to reasonable expenses on the company dime. AppZen gives you 100 percent visibility into your expenses and flags unauthorized, out-of-policy spend to your attention, so even your finance team can relax and enjoy the holiday season.

* This does not represent all gift spend, just ones that are identified as out-of-policy

This article originally appeared here. Republished with permission.

France is the Major Market for Premium Vodka from Poland, Purchasing $99M or 62% of Its Total Exports