to wind turbine exports. On the other hand, the
major drop in imports led to a substantial reduc-
tion in Greece’s trade deficit with Turkey during
the past two years.
Russia
is ranked 14th among destination coun-
tries, albeit with very promising prospects. In the
eleven-months from January to November 2010,
exports to this country amounted to €289.6 mil-
lion, increased by 36.3% year-on-year. Furs and
leather account for 26.3% of Greek exports (for
the past few years, Russia has been the number
one market for Greek furs), fresh fruit for 11.5%,
nuts for 5.2% and tobacco for 4.85%, while the
exports of electrical appliances and fixed telepho-
ny equipment are also on the rise.
In 2010,
China
climbed to the 23rd place in regard
to Greek exports, from the 33rd place in 2006. A
very promising, albeit very challenging, market, the
improvement in its living standards opens, among
others, the way for Greece’s top quality
olive oil
,
which is already being sold in Beijing’s supermar-
kets both as a food, as well as a cosmetic, while
wine export prospects are also being explored. It
should also be noted that the
Arabic
section of the
Mediterranean Basin
will be more methodically
approached by Greek exporters. This is a market
of almost 150 million people, with huge needs in
agricultural goods, infrastructures and manufactur-
ing products, and undoubtedly positive prospects.
The main exported items include cotton, tobacco,
ice-creams, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, iron,
cement, machinery, aluminium, and copper.
Of course, many other regions (Black Sea, India,
Africa, North America etc.) are in the Greek
exporters’ sights, as part of a wider plan whose
tenets are presented in other articles of this publi-
cation.
Greek exports did well
during the previous,
admittedly tough, year. The greatest bet is to do
―why not?― even better, on account of their
consistency, innovative features and quality
.
This is, undoubtedly, an
ambitious goal
for pro-
ducers, exporters and export-related agencies
alike, which can, nonetheless, be realized on the
basis of a
methodical
, as well as
persistent,
effort.
After all, such a development would mean
that the fiscal adjustment and reform policy that is
being ―however reluctantly, ambivalently and,
more or less, tardily― pursued, is in tandem with
the real economy, which, despite the host of prob-
lems it has been facing,
has no intention to quit
.
This effort will be unwaveringly, quietly and imag-
inatively pursued, mainly focused on
continual
improvement
to the benefit of all stakeholders,
including, of course, Greece’s trading
partners.
Trade with Greece
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