Exporters ask for crisis management
Greek exports lagged expectations in the first quarter of the year, creating serious concerns among exporters, who are asking for the creation of a special commission for external trade crisis management.
The uncertainty in the Greek economy due to incidents such as the 10-week closure of the rail link at Idomeni, on Greece’s northern border, along with signs of a global slowdown, are behind Greek exports’ bigger-than-anticipated dive and the conservative estimates regarding total revenues at the end of the year.
According to the data compiled by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) and analysis by the Panhellenic Exporters Association’s Exports Research Center, the total value of exports in the January-March 2016 period amounted to 5.61 billion euros, down 9.3 percent from the 6.19 billion euros recorded in the same period a year earlier. The previous estimate had been for an 8.9 percent contraction.
“The instability and the pressure on the country’s external trade reflect the uncertainty concerning the prospects of the Greek economy in the context of the negotiations with the country’s creditors, as well as the exhaustion of production and exporting capacity after so many years of recession,” explained the president of the Panhellenic Exporters Association, Christina Sakellaridi.
