Procesy dostosowawcze w branży mleczarskiej do warunków gospodarki rynkowej

This study analyses the restructuring processes in dairy industry that have been observed in Poland since 1990 and aimed at adjustment of this sector into market economy and the European Union requirements. These are milk producers and dairy industry enterprises that were the most burdened by mentioned processes of adaptation. Having this fact recognised earlier, the part of dairy co-operatives made on their own significant efforts to re-organise the supply basis and to improve raw products' quality. In dairy sector, the considerable progress was made during the last years in respect of the situation existing in the eighties. However, dairy products market in Poland differs from this in the European Union according to some essential factors. These are in many cases very sensitive and cause some problems, which need further solutions in order Polish dairy industry could be able to cope with free market competition and reach quality standards within the European Union. The paper concludes that further development of Polish dairy sector depends on deep structural changes in agriculture and in dairy industry.