Fuel and drug imports would be hard hit by Greek default
Imports of energy and lifesaving medicines top the list of products in jeopardy if Greece defaults on its debt and moves closer to exiting the eurozone.
The threat to vital supplies is increasingly exercising policymakers, companies and traders as an impasse in negotiations between Athens and international creditors provokes alarm in financial markets.
Although Greece’s total 2014 imports of $62 billion barely register amid global trade flows of $18.8 trillion, its failure to secure essential fuel and drug supplies would bring real suffering to the population.
With no safety net in place in the event of a eurozone exit, the fear is that prices of imports in the drachma will simply surge out of reach.
[Reuters]
