Poland hopes to increase trade with Russia to approximately $12 billion in 2005, compared to $9.2 billion in 2004, Poland's Economy and Labor Minister Jacek Piechota said at a Russian-Polish business meeting held by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Moscow on Friday.

"We think that if current trends to Russia remain, exports could grow to $4 billion and Russian imports to almost $8 billion. Mutual trade could reach a record $12 billion," he said.

The prerequisites for this exist, since exports from Poland to Russia grew 54% in January-August 2005 to $2.5 billion compared to the same period in the year prior. Imports to Poland from Russia rose 35% to $5.4 billion. Polish exports grew 88% to $2.8 billion in 2004 and imports from Russia rose 23% to $6.4 billion, Piechota said.

Polish investments in Russia grew to $41.4 million in the first half of 2005 and to $39.5 million in 2004 from $5.2 million in 2002, he said.

"As a result, total inflow of Polish investments to the Russian market was $111.3 million at the end of June 2005, and this includes direct investments of $82.2 million, which is significantly higher than the average figure for foreign investments in Russia," Piechota said.

Polish entrepreneurs have invested in part in particleboard production in Veliky Novgorod, furniture in Vladimir and insulin production at the Bioton company in Orel, he said.

Russian investments in Poland are significantly higher than Polish investments in Russia, Piechota said.

"Russian investments in Poland reached $409.1 million at the end of 2004. A large part - $401 million - came from Gazprom," he said.

Relations between Polish and Russian businessmen would be much more fruitful if Russia was not dragging out ratification of an agreement on incentives and mutual protection of investments between Russia and Poland, which was signed back in 1992, Piechota said.