A new study has shown that Greek exports will exceed 35 billion euros in value by the end of 2019, while a goal of reaching 40 billion euros by 2021 was feasible with exports surpassing 25 percent of Greek GDP that year.
During a news conference on Tuesday, George Constantopoulos President of the Greek Exporters Association revealed a new survey regarding Greek export activity for the period of 201r to 2018, drafted by the Institute of Export Research and Studies.
The survey was presented by Panagiotis Hasapis, executive vice-president of SEVE, who said 2018 was a landmark year for Greek exports as the value of exports surpassed the 33-billion euros barrier while export of goods grew to 17.7 percent of Greek GDP in 2018, from 16 percent in 2017.
Constantopoulos also announced that a meeting will be held in Thessaloniki today, Thursday, December 12 with Foreign Ministry officials to discuss the drafting of a programme to promote Greek exports abroad.
Furthermore, the survey showed that the regions of Attica, Peloponnese, and Central Macedonia accounted for 81.5 percent of Greek exports (50.6 percent in Attica, up 20.1 percent or 2.8 billion euros). The Attica region managed to lower its trade deficit as imports grew at a slightly slower rate, with the shortfall totalling 20 billion euros.
The Peloponnese accounted for 16 percent of Greek exports, up 22.8 percent in 2018. The region is highly dependent on exports of oil products. The Central Macedonia region recorded a 5.7 percent increase in exports totalling 4.9 billion euros in 2018 for a market share of 14.9 percent.
Central Greece recorded a 26.5 percent increase in exports to 1.4 billion euros, Thessaly ranked fifth with a market share of 4.1 percent and a value of exports of 1.3 billion euros (up 2.9 percent). East Macedonia-Thrace region recorded a decline in exports with its market share falling to 2.7 percent, however, its trade balance remained positive. Crete recorded a 26 percent increase in exports to 691.5 million euros, while Western Greece recorded exports of 562.3 million euros.