Company development and Polish integration within the EU –Examplified by analysis of the agri-food industry in the Voivodship of Łódź

This paper attempts to assess the effort to develop agri-food sector companies in the Voivodship of Lodz between 1998 and 2012. It was based on data of production dynamics and scale of investment, financed mainly through EU pre-accession and structural funds. Initially, during this period, the agri-food industry in Lodz, after its systemic transformation, found itself in a state of recession. Despite this, the financing of investment through EU funds (from the SAPARD Programme and the structural funds, ‘Improvement of Processing and Marketing of the Agri-food Sector’ within SPO 2004-2006 and the activities ‘Increasing Basic Value Added of Agri and Forestry Production’) had a positive impact on the adjustment of the agro-food sector to the homogenous market of the EU within adherence to sanitary, hygienic and quality standards. The implemented investments in this sector boosted the level of company advancement, even though it was innovation based on imitation, through which companies implemented modern solutions and technologies previously applied by companies from the EU-15, it still enabled the achievement of technical advancement close to the EU leaders.Preparation and printing funded by the National Agency for Research and Development under project “Kreator Innowacyjności – wparcie dla Przedsiębiorczości akademickiej