Demand for Polish food in the UK rises

Demand for Polish food in Britain is back on the rise again, Tesco said, as Poles begin to return after leaving when the credit crunch hit.

Poles began arriving in Britain about five years ago and built up a strong demand for delicacies from home.

By mid-2008, there were estimated to be 1.2 million Poles living in the UK but by the beginning of 2009 demand for Polish food began to wane, Tesco said, as jobs began to dry up.

The supermarket said it had seen the first rise 15 per cent in British demand for Polish food products for nearly a year.

So pronounced is the trend, it added, that it plans to introduce 92 new Polish delicacies in the supermarket's first dedicated food range for Poles for 18 months.

"When jobs began drying up, some Poles returned home in order to try and find work but many found it equally hard over there and have decided to come back to the UK," said Tesco Polish foods buyer Tomasz Zarebinski.

"With unemployment currently higher in Poland than in the UK, many of those who left are more hopeful of finding work over here.

"That has directly led to the first rise in demand for Polish food here for nearly a year and as a result we have now decided to extend our range."