Six interventions to boost Greek exports were presented by the Minister of National Economy and Finance, Kostis Hatzidakis, speaking at the conference of the Panhellenic Exporters Association.

At the same time, he mentioned the significant advancements made in recent years, which have led to record-high exports of goods and services in both absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP. Additionally, the current account deficit will have decreased by a third in 2023 compared to 2022.

In particular, in the period 2018- 2022 exports recorded the highest percentage increase in market share in the EU, while there has also been a significant improvement in the composition of exports, with goods exports exceeding services exports after many years since 2020, while the share of high-tech goods in exports has been steadily increasing. "Greek exporters are making a national effort, which supports our economy in practice," he said, adding that "for our part, we are determined to continue with even greater determination the effort to diversify and modernize our production model."

In this context, the following actions are being promoted:

1. Further development of sectors where we have a comparative advantage, such as agri-food, the pharmaceutical industry, and energy production from renewable sources, provided that pan-European energy networks are created. "So that Greece is not dependent on either polluting and expensive lignite or imported natural gas," he said.

2. Encourage businesses to grow so that they can stand up to international competition. "Some people are attacking me for insisting on this, with a bill that would introduce tax and financial incentives. We don't want to exclude any business, we are a free economy. What I am pointing out is that we have twice as many small businesses as in the EU and this is not good for the competitiveness of the economy or for small businesses themselves," Hatzidakis said.

3. Facilitate the digital transition of businesses through grants from the Recovery Fund and the new NSRF 2021- 2027. Through the Recovery Fund alone, 100,000 SMEs are expected to benefit from the adoption of digital technologies and the purchase of digital services.

4. Further consolidation and strengthening the soundness of the banking system, while also enhancing competition through reforms such as allowing non-bank lending. At the same time, a bill on the Capital Market will be tabled soon with regulations that will strengthen the Securities and Exchange Commission and make the stock market more attractive, enhancing the ability of companies to obtain financing outside the banking system.

5. Utilization of public assets, through concessions and privatisations, which send a positive signal about the prospects of the economy, support its dynamism, and indirectly strengthen the effort to eventually increase exports. In the nine months since the elections, 10 privatisations have taken place, generating revenues of over €7.1 billion.

6. Utilization of European funds from the Recovery Fund and the new NSRF. "Extroversion is one of the five pillars of the Recovery Fund loan programme. Companies that have export activity equal to 15% of their turnover or submit business plans in which exports constitute 15% of projected revenues are eligible for loans on preferential terms," the minister said. "While the NSRF 2021-2027 also provides that any action funded by the Competitiveness Programme should have a specific reference to extroversion," he added.