Maybe about tourism be considered … the country’s heavy industry, but export of goods basically they served her as a “lifeline” National economy and business both in the decade of the economic crisis and during the pandemic. In fact, despite a strong recovery in tourism, already last year exports of goods increased compared to exports of services in the two years 2021-2022, while their share in the total volume exceeded 50% for the first time since 1998.

The gradual improvement in extraversion is largely due to the fact that the economic crisis in Greece and a sharp drop in domestic demand pushed many Greeks to enterprises acquire an extraverted orientation during the previous decade. This, combined with the structural reforms carried out, led to an increase in our country’s export activity, more moderate until the middle of the decade and stronger from 2017 to 2020, when the growth trend of exports – mainly services – and tourism stopped. particularly due to the pandemic crisis.

Over the past two years, merchandise exports have exceeded 50% of total exports, the first time since 1998.

In particular, as indicated Alfa Bank in a special issue of the Weekly Economic Development Bulletin, exports of goods at current prices, including petroleum products, grew by almost 30% in 2021 and 37% in 2022 and were set at historically high levels as a percentage of GDP, above 20% . The growth trend of Greek merchandise exports continued in the first quarter of 2023 as they amounted to 13.7 billion euros, an increase of 17.8% compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

The increase in the value of exports is due not only to an increase in the volume of exported products, but also to an increase in the export of standardized and processed products, which have a higher added value, are sold more expensively and bring enterprises higher profits. In particular, over the past two years, the annual contribution of sectors producing goods for international trade (including the considered agriculture, industry, wholesale and retail trade, tourism and transport) was decisive. In particular, in 2021 and 2022, gross value added (at nominal prices) increased by 9.4% and 15.1% respectively, with 71% (6.6 percentage points) and 74% (11.3 percentage points) growth is attributable to an increase in the GPA of internationally traded affiliates. As a result, the share of tradable goods and services gradually increased to 49.3% in 2022 from 40.9% in 2012.

In addition, although Greece still exports largely non-standardized agricultural products, investments made in previous years in all manufacturing industries, from oil refineries to the food industry, have led to an increase in exports of processed goods compared to commodities. The data included in a study published by KEPE and entitled “Greek Goods Exports: Productivity, Specialization and Differentiation” is revealing.

In 2001, the share of commodities in the food and beverage category was 44.3%, and in 2019 it decreased to 37.9%, while processed goods – 62.1%. As for oil, refined products now account for 98.5% of exported fuels and lubricants, compared with 91.7% in 2001.