Greek toys are bouncing back
The pandemic has given a significant boost to exports of Greek toys, mainly to fellow European Union countries. The reason has been their high quality/price ratio and the timely delivery of orders, considering that especially since the fall of 2020 and even more in 2021, delays in shipping goods from China were huge and freight rates increased sixfold.
According to Eurostat data, the value of toy exports from Greece was 295.73 million euros in 2020, which increased even more in 2021 to reach €327.6 million. Exports, especially to EU countries, came in 2020 to €228.4 million and in 2021 to €272.96 million.
The shift since the mid-2010s has been dramatic, as 22 years ago, in 2000, the value of Greek toy exports was only €29.71 million, with imports almost eight times as high, at €248.84 million. Although Greece remains in deficit when it comes to toys – in 2021 the value of imports amounted to €468.31 million – it is certain that the gap has closed significantly.
The pandemic may have provided the momentum, but the return of Greek toys to international markets – but also to the domestic one – began as was the case with other industries seeking to secure revenues to offset losses from sales within Greece in the years of the financial crisis.
