SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AND REGIONAL CONCENTRATION OF FOOD INDUSTRY ENTERPRISES IN POLAND

Abstract

The aim of the article is to assess the spatial distribution of food industry enterprises in Poland and the level of their regional concentration, as well as the changes that have occurred in this area in recent years. Due to the changing external conditions, the specificity and dependencies occurring within individual industries, as well as changes taking place in the supply of raw materials and the progressive development of agglomerations, the location of the food industry in Poland is spatially diverse. In some voivodeships the food industry is a key sector of the economy, while in others its importance remains small. The analysis used mainly the location quotient (LQ), which takes into account two variables, i.e. the value of sold production and employment. This indicator made it possible to determine the specialization of a given region in terms of the adopted variables, indicating the degree of concentration of enterprises of various industries in the area of individual voivodeships. The studies covered the years 2015 and 2021. Statistical data came from the Central Statistical Office. The analysis of the spatial diversity of the location of food industry enterprises in Poland shows that the Mazowieckie Voivodeship and the Wielkopolskie Voivodeship are of key importance in this respect. In-depth research using the LQ indicator shows that this industry branch is also highly concentrated in the Podlaskie, Lubelskie and Łódzkie voivodeships, and the region›s specialization can also be concluded in the Warmińsko-Mazurskie and Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodeships.