Greek exports rose to record high in 2018

The report was based on provisional data released earlier the same day by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), which showed that exports, including oil products, increased 15.7 pct year-on-year, breaking through the 30-billion-euro barrier, and 10.7 pct when oil products were excluded.

"A new period is now beginning following our country's exit from the memorandums and provided there are no negative geopolitical developments of great extent in the surrounding region, Greek exports are expected to post a new historic record in 2019," said Christina Sakellaridi, president of PSA.
Investing in an export-oriented economy was the only way to build a sustainable economy that will steadily generate surpluses, Sakellaridi pointed out.

"More exports means more and better-paid jobs. It has now become imperative to provide incentives to boost domestic production in order to further correct the trade balance," she added.

Greek exports jumped 15.7 pct in value in 2018, despite a 2.8 pct decline in December, while the value of imports rose 9.5 pct in the year, ELSTAT reported.

The statistics service said that the value of import-arrivals totaled 4.267 billion euros in December, up 0.2 pct from December 2017 (excluding oil products imports 1.4 pct, while excluding oil products and ships the value of imports rose 6.4 pct). The value of export-deliveries totaled 2.570 billion euros in December, down 2.8 pct from December 2017 (excluding oil products exports rose 1.0 pct while excluding oil products and ships exports rose 1.8 pct).
The trade deficit showed a deficit of 1.697 billion euros in December, up 5.1 pct from December 2017 (excluding oil products the trade deficit rose 2.1 pct while excluding oil products and ships the trade deficit grew 13.7 pct).

In the 12-month period from January to December 2018, the value of imports totaled 55.13 billion euros, up 9.5 pct from 2017 (excluding oil products the value of imports rose 2.9 pct while excluding oil products and ships the value of imports grew 8.2 pct). The value of exports totaled 33.418 billion euros in 2018, up 15.7 pct from the previous year (excluding oil products exports rose 10.7 pct while excluding oil products and ships exports rose 10.6 pct).
The country's trade deficit totaled 21.712 billion euros in 2018, up 1.1 pct from 2017 (excluding oil products the trade deficit fell 5.6 pct while excluding oil products and ships the trade deficit rose 5.1 pct).