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technological progress has been tied closely to Soviet-supplied blueprints, licenses, and technicians. As a result, much of the country's industry, although it covers a large part of domestic consumption and provides exports to other Communist countries and to less-developed Western countries, cannot meet the standards of the advanced market economies. This is particularly true of the Polish machine-building industry. Its continued growth since the late 1950's has depended particularly on Soviet willingness to buy increasing quantities of Polish machinery. In Poland's industrial sector, only the food processing industry sells any sizable part of its output to the industrial West.

Communist Party leader Gierek, who succeeded Wladyslaw Gomulka after the workers' riots in December 1970, is continuing with Gomulka's plan to increase Polish imports of advanced technology from the industrial West. The plan for 1971-75 calls for purchases of Western capital equipment to double over the previous 5 years. Since the bulk of such purchases is financed by credits, Polish hard currency indebtedness will increase considerably. A doubling of imports of Western capital equipment in 1972 alone resulted in an increase of Poland's estimated medium- and long-term indebtedness to the industrial West from $1.2 billion at the end of 1971 to $1.5 billion at the end of 1972.

B. Structure of the economy

Poland has maintained satisfactory rates of economic growth throughout the postwar period, except during the early 1950's. GNP increased at an average yearly rate of 5% between 1950-70, and 6% in 1971-72 (Figure 2). Moreover, Poland avoided the sharp declines in the rate of growth that East Germany and Czechoslovakia suffered in the early 1960's, and has maintained a growth rate higher than that of Hungary, though lower than that of either Bulgaria or Romania. The rate of growth of industrial production, especially producer goods, has been high, averaging 7% a year during 1961-70 and 8% during 1971-72. (U/OU)

Net agricultural output ― less feed, seed, and waste ― increased at a rate of only 1.8% a year during 1961-72, a rate considerably slower than those of Bulgaria and Romania. Value added in agriculture, however, has increased more rapidly in Poland than in any other East European Communist country, reflecting the slower growth of industrial inputs in Poland. The growth of value added in Polish agriculture is estimated to have averaged 3.5% a year during 1961-70 and 5.7% a year during 1971-72. (U/OU)

In 1972 about 47% of the GNP originated in industry and 21% in agriculture. The pattern of employment in the economy is quite different from that of output; in 1972, 36% of the 16.8 million working population were employed in agriculture, while 29% worked in industry and 35% in other nonagricultural occupations. The importance of industry to the Polish economy is largely the result of policies of the country's Communist government. As late as 1950, the relative shares of industry and agriculture were about the reverse of those in 1972; agriculture contributed 41% and industry 24% of GNP. (U/OU)

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