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15.2%, respectively. Raw material exports from 184.4 million ¬ fell to 157.3 million ¬ dur-
ing the first quarter of 2014, and of fuels from 340.4 million ¬ to 288.6 million ¬.
Miscellaneous goods and transactions fell by a lot (-38.8%), despite being low in value (69.3
åê.¬).
As concerns imports, they were lower across all product categories. The most significant
drop (-9.6%) was registered by manufactured goods (8,534.4 million ¬), while imports of
agricultural products were also lower by -7.1% reaching 1,373.1 million ¬ as against 1.478
million ¬, in the first quarter of 2013. Thus, exports of agricultural products covered just
61% of imports of agricultural products in the quarter this year. Finally, imports of fuels,
raw materials, and very low in value imports of miscellaneous goods and services
decreased by -84.2%, -41.5% and -50.4%, respectively.
Proposals for a Resurgence of Exports
Four aims must be served in order for exports and the economy to surmount the present
deadlocks, as described in a memorandum sent by the Panhellenic Exporters Association
(PEA)to Finance Minister. The text was authored on the occasion of the Thessaloniki
International Fair and among other things it stresses the need to adopt a new develop-
mental model, with a main aim at heightening the extroversion of the Greek economy.
More specifically the PEA proposes:
1.
Promotion of the vision and a joint design with collective institutions of a strategy of
extraversion.
The supervisory role of the state must be combined with the action of collective institutions
representing exporters, with an upgrade of the role of the National Council for Exports,
with the express consent of productive institutions and social partners, in order to cultivate
a spirit of international-extroverted business acumen, through actions like:
• Realisation of Congresses/Meetings per Prefecture or Region with the attendance of pro-
ductive enterprises and collective institutions
• Organisation of educational seminars for executives of enterprises and cooperatives with
an export orientation
38
/ TRIIRIS / JUNE 2015
THE GLOBAL CRISIS AFFECT EXPORTS