voluntary report public distribution date 7 27 2004 gain number pl4025 poland product brief distilled spirits approved by wayne molstad agricultural counselor us embassy prepared jolanta figurska marketing specialist charlene kastanek intern highlights alcoholic beverage consumption in has been steadily rising is the world s fourth largest consumer of vodka market for was highly protected tariffs however may 1 accession to european union have dramatically dropped united states a large share whiskey and gin markets which continue expand includes psd changes no trade matrix unscheduled warsaw pl1 pl usda foreign service global agriculture information network template version 2 09 page 9 unclassified i introduction represent small percentage alcohol consumed due recent increases wine beer dominates accounting total growing popularity among younger crowd imports from rapidly