Exports soar but imports grow further

Greek exports registered a historic record last year, amounting to 28.83 billion euros (including fuel), which signified a 13.2 percent rise from 2016, the revised Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) figures showed on Wednesday. It was the first year since 2012 that exports had recorded a rise.

However, the trade deficit also showed the biggest rise in the last five years, amounting to 21.43 billion euros, which illustrates two structural problems: The country’s exports still have low added value and locally produced commodities have not yet managed to replace imports to a significant extent. After all, imports showed a greater increase than exports.

In the January-December 2017 period, exports excluding fuel products amounted to 19.97 billion euros, up by 1.32 billion or 7.1 percent from 2016’s 18.65 billion. Total imports in the same period reached their highest figure since 2010, adding up to 50.26 billion euros, up 13.7 percent from the 44.18 billion recorded in 2016. Excluding fuel, they increased 10.1 percent year-on-year.