Importers protest delays in getting approval for transactions

Problems in the domestic market are growing by the day, as the inability of Greek importers as well as producers and industries to pay their suppliers in Greece and abroad due to the closure of the country’s banks has forced the production and packaging of dozens of commodities to freeze.

Reliable senior sources from the retail commerce sector said that the first shortages of commodities of broad consumption such as imported meat, beans and rice will start to be felt next week. Even in market segments with sufficient stocks of raw materials there are growing problems with packaging materials, they say.

A major domestic enterprise involved in the packaging and trading of a well-known food brand has sufficient stock of its raw material but will soon have to halt operations due to a shortage in packaging materials as they are brought from abroad. The inability to pay the foreign supplier and the delays observed in the approval of such bank transactions are cited as the main reasons. Meat importers also say that their inability to pay their suppliers abroad has begun to compromise the supply of the local market.

Transporters also have problems due to expenses related to fuel and toll costs as well as the payment of their dues. A major Greek retailer chose to collect commodities from its suppliers using its own trucks due to the inability of the suppliers’ vehicles to operate because they had no fuel.