Do you remember when you could buy bread for less than PLN 1.20? This was the case at the very beginning of this century in Podlasie, where a half-kilogram wheat-rye loaf cost as much as PLN 1.16 (GUS data for 2002).
At the same time in Silesia the price reached PLN 1.69. 20 years later, bread was even the topic of press conferences of the President of the National Bank of Poland, Adam Glapiński, who at the beginning of 2023 discussed the advantages of Balton bread.
All because prices have skyrocketed in recent months. The same loaf that cost on average PLN 1.16 in Podlasie in 2002 is now almost four times more expensive.
The latest data from the Central Statistical Office show that in this voivodeship the average price is PLN 4.45. And this is still one of the cheaper regions. In Silesia, the price reaches nearly PLN 6. Changes in bread prices over the years are presented in the chart below.
Another thing is that not only prices have increased since then. Poles’ wages are rising in line with inflation, which is clearly visible in the monthly readings of the Central Statistical Office.
In 2003, in half of the voivodeships the average salary did not exceed PLN 2,000. PLN gross per month, and only in Mazovia it exceeded PLN 2.5 thousand. zloty.
A lot has changed since then. What have our salaries looked like by region for over 20 years? We present this data in the chart below.
Let’s go back to this bread for a moment. At the beginning of the 21st century, bread was most often bought in bakeries or local stores. Today, large stores, especially supermarkets, dominate in this respect.
No wonder, because the development of this form of trade is clearly visible. Especially in the last 15 years. Data from the Central Statistical Office show that in 2008 in the Świętokrzyskie and Podlaskie voivodeships the total number of supermarkets did not exceed 100. There were 91 and 100 stores of this type, respectively.
Today, in almost every city we have Biedronka, Lidl, Dino, PoloMarket or other large-format stores. The development of retail chains can be seen in the chart below.
Interestingly, Today, most supermarkets cannot be found in Masovia or Silesia, where the largest population centers live. In this respect, Greater Poland dominates, where the Dino chain was born.
Even if there is no store in our town, you certainly don’t have to travel too long to the nearest one. And here’s what.
The development of the road network, especially expressways, is one of Poland’s greatest achievements in the last 20 years. Largely due to investments before the Euro 2012 tournament, but not only.
Just 20 years ago, there was not a single kilometer of expressway or highway on the entire eastern wall (Podlasie, Lublin and Podkarpacie). In addition, the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, where, according to the Central Statistical Office, there were only 3 km of such roads in 2003. In the entire country it was approximately 630 km.
Today, the entire network of expressways exceeds 5,000. km, of which almost 1 thousand km are the four voivodeships mentioned above.
The development of infrastructure is undoubtedly one of Poland’s greatest successes in recent years. The second one is undoubtedly the situation on the labor market and the drastic drop in unemployment.
Still at the beginning of this century in some regions almost 30 percent. people remained unemployed. This is an image of, among others, Warmian-Masurian and West Pomeranian Voivodeships in 2003
Today, nationwide unemployment is 5 percent, and in some regions it is barely 3 percent. Even in the Podkarpacie region, which is the worst in this respect, less than every eleventh resident remains unemployed.
Another positive aspect of Polish development is the financial situation of local governments. This is visible, for example, in the income of voivodeships, which are largely beneficiaries of, for example, EU funds.
At the end of the 20th century, the Silesian Voivodeship had the most money, just over PLN 500 million. The industrial capital of Poland left Mazovia and Lower Silesia far behind.
Today the situation looks completely different, and it gained momentum after Poland’s accession to the European Union. Effect? Mazovia currently boasts an income of nearly PLN 6 billion. This is almost 15 times more than at the turn of the century.
Finally, two charts that will add some bitterness to this barrel of honey. It’s about demographics. Recently, we wrote in Business Insider Polska that the number of Polish inhabitants decreased by 130,000 in just one year.
This must automatically cause significant reshuffling in the regions. Of course, there are regions that are growing. This is primarily Masovia (from 5 to 5.5 million inhabitants since 1995), but also Greater Poland and Małopolska.
In turn, less than 1 million people live in the Opole or Lubuskie regions. These are the least populated regions of our country, whose population is decreasing and slowly heading from 40 to 30 million.
The decline is also visible, for example, in the number of marriages. In 2005, over 25,000 events took place in Masovia and Silesia. weddings per year. Today, these numbers are about 20 percent higher. lower.
The record year for the entire country was 2008. Over 250,000 contracts were concluded then. marriages. In 2023, it was already below 150,000, which means a drop of 40%.
It is therefore not surprising that more and more children are born out of wedlock. Another thing is that the fertility rate in our country is also dramatically low, which we wrote about in a separate material on Business Insider Polska.
Author: Jakub Ceglarz, journalist of Business Insider Polska
Ah, the humble loaf of bread – the life giver, the social binder, the inflator of our waistlines! Who knew it would become the barometer of our economic prowess? From PLN 1.16 to a groundbreaking PLN 4.45 in just two decades! That’s about as shocking as finding out your mate thinks pineapple on pizza is a great idea – it’s just a step too far.
We kick off in Podlasie, back in 2002, when bread was cheaper than a cup of coffee. Honestly, with prices like that, people were probably planning the ‘bread for all’ uprising. And now, 20 years later, you’re likely spending more on a loaf than you would on a pantsuit from a charity shop! PLN 4.45 in Podlasie? I could almost hear the price tag yelling ‘disappointed expectations’ louder than Ricky Gervais at an award show!
But wait, we can’t forget our friends in Silesia. They’ve been shelling out nearly PLN 6! For that price, I’d expect it to come with artisanal butter whipped by a monk on a mountaintop. If this price hike keeps up, we might just need a personal loan to get our daily crumb fix.
Now, Adam Glapiński of the National Bank of Poland giving press conferences on “Balton bread” feels like cooking class turned TED Talk. What are we becoming? Next, they’ll be discussing the economic impact of gluten-free bread and the emotional rollercoaster of sourdough starters!
And here’s a concept – wages have increased too! Much like trying to justify the price of avocado toast! In 2003, half the voivodeships were living well below PLN 2,000 gross per month. Fast forward to now, and while it’s still a race for who gets under the line first, the money is coming in, just like Netflix subscriptions during winter lockdowns.
Moving on, let’s talk about our changing shopping habits. Back in the day, bakeries were like trendy niche cafes serving artisanal coffee and avocado… you guessed it! Now, it seems the giants of retail have muscled in. Supermarkets everywhere—Biedronka, Lidl, you name it. If only they could support local businesses like they do with alligator skin handbags at the mall!
Hold your horses though, because let’s not ignore the absolute revolution in infrastructure! Back in 2003, if you wanted to drive across the eastern wall of Poland, you’d need a good map and likely a sleeping bag. Now, we’ve got over 5,000 km of expressways – a billion-dollar dream!
And what about unemployment? It’s down to 5%! Yet, it seems the Ukrainian economy could start taking notes rather than hitting checkmate by losing workers to Poland instead.
But while we’re striking deals, and resources seem ripe like a Kevin Hart comedy special, we’re simultaneously dealing with demographic depression – losing about 130,000 people per year. We’re starting to look like a Tinder profile with none of the good matches left!
And let’s not forget about those sweet wedding figures – marriage seems to be on the decline like a poorly executed dad joke. A drop of 40% since 2008? I mean, at this point, marriage should come with an option to not renew after the first year.
In conclusion, as we enjoy our hike in bread prices with the stunning waves of inflation, let’s just hope they don’t come up with a new health trend that outlaws bread altogether. After all, we are all in this sticky dough together – whether we like pineapple on our pizzas or flaunt our gluten-free lifestyles with pride! Cheers to the loaf, the economic staple, and anything sticky that can hold our evenings together, without breaking the bank too much!
