ECONOMY

Exports hit hard by capital controls

Exports hit hard by capital controls

From end-June to November 2015, the capital controls cost Greek exports, and therefore the economy in general, some 3.5 billion euros, or 2 percentage points of the country’s gross domestic product, according to an analysis of Bank of Greece data by the Panhellenic Exporters Association.

In addition to the 1.88-billion-euro net loss in takings in the first 11 months of last year compared with the year before, exports are believed to have missed out on another 1.65 billion as according to the course set in the first half of the year, the momentum would have seen exports swell considerably in 2015.

At the same time, the transactions terms between Greek enterprises and foreign partners (clients or suppliers) remain very tough, according to the exporters. Furthermore, foreign clients of Greek companies are delaying payments as the local firms are at a disadvantage and cannot exert pressure on them.

In 2015 foreign companies extended the payment time for Greek exports by an average of 13 days compared to 2014. The ratio of payments to declared exports dropped to 96.27 percent in 2015, from 98.48 percent in 2014, the Bank of Greece data showed. The value of exported goods came to 23.6 billion euros last year while payments came to just 22.7 billion.
 

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