Greek trucks head north
Three in every five Greek international freight trucks are sitting idle while just 40 percent of the country?s exports are served by Greek vehicles, the Federation of Greek Drivers of International Transport Trucks (OFAE) said on Wednesday.
OFAE alleges that foreign trucks, mostly based in Bulgaria and Cyprus, engage in unfair competition and execute 60 percent of the country?s transport work.
Federation president Apostolos Kenanidis said that out of the 6,000 international freight trucks operating in Greece in 2002, about 2,000 are still operating today, and even these are struggling to fill their schedules.
The rest have moved to Bulgaria, where taxation is much more favorable: Transport is taxed at a 45 percent rate in Greece against just 10 percent in Bulgaria.
