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debts settled by means of zero coupon govern-
ment bonds amount to 5 billion euros.
The pharmaceuticals market in
Greece
Each year, Greek households spend more than
1.2 billion euros on pharmaceuticals, on top of
pharmaceutical costs of 4-4.5 billion euros
incurred by Greek social security funds during the
past few years. This is clear from the 2009
Household Budget Survey (HBS), whose findings
were recently released by the Hellenic Statistical
Authority (ELSTAT). First of all, it should be noted
that this survey does not take into account the
huge changes in the pattern of Greek household
expenditure-consumption during the past two
years as a result of the Memorandum of
Economic and Financial Policies and its conse-
quences (wage, pension and social security
spending cuts, ballooning unemployment etc.).
Safer conclusions regarding private consumption
in the post-Memorandum era are expected to be
drawn from the findings of the Household Budget
Survey for the year 2010, whose release is
Trade with Greece
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