Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 12/98) - Poland's Consulate General will be visiting Yellowknife August 14-19.

Wojciech Tycinski, from the Toronto Embassy, and trade commissioner Alexandra Kczmarek will meet with Northern business people, Mayor Dave Lovell and GNWT ministers to explore export possibilities to the Eastern European country.

"We are quite busy in the Russian far east and there may be potential for markets in Poland and this is part of the exploration to find out whether or not there are markets that NWT companies can effectively compete in," said Terry Lancaster, trade and investment consultant with resources, wildlife and economic development.

Poland, once a struggling, politically unstable country, has been identified by the U.S. department of commerce as one of the biggest emerging markets in the world. It has a population of 40 million people, 29 per cent of them under the age of 19.

The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is growing at a rate of about six per cent a year, said Lancaster.

To ensure that this growth continues, Poland is calling upon the expertise of other countries, including Canada.

"We will be looking for where we can compete," said Lancaster.

For many years, the territorial government and many Northern firms have exported expertise to Europe, particularly to Russia. Poland is felt to be the next logical step.

"We are fairly well established in the Russian far east. If you are going to open up a new market, you would do the one where you're going to get the biggest bang for your buck," he said.

While in town, Tycinski will be a part of a one-day Team Canada workshop to help lay the ground work for a trade mission in January, 1999 to the Ukraine, Russia and Poland.

One-on-one meetings with interested Northern companies and the Polish delegation will also take place during the visit.

"We're trying to keep it as fluid as possible to meet the needs of both sides," said Lancaster who is co-ordinating the event.

With the North being such a small market, it's important that companies expand overseas. That's why it's key to find countries that are developing, like Poland and Russia, and to offer them expertise in construction, environmental industries and expediting, said Lancaster.