ECONOMY

Clothing-textile exports still high

Clothing and textiles remained among the top three exporting industries in Greece last year, continuing a trend going back two decades, according to the Hellenic Fashion Industry Association (SEPEE). «Last year was definitely a better one for the sector than 2005,» SEPEE said in a statement accompanying external trade data for 2006. Although exports of the clothing subsector dropped by 10 percent last year to -971 million, the decline was actually smaller since companies making their products in Bulgaria export them directly, without reimporting them to Greece. Overall exports fell by 2 percent, but exports of the primary textile sector (cotton, silk) rose by 17.9 percent year-on-year, rising to -334.3 million. The total value of the sector’s exports, including primary textiles, came to -1.819 billion, accounting for 11 percent of total Greek exports and 28 percent of all industrial exports. Taking the value of clothing exports as a measure, the five top markets for Greek products are Germany (-231 million), Italy (-80 million), France (-80 million), UK (-76 million) and Cyprus (-64 million). As for textile exports, the main destinations for Greek products are: Bulgaria (-71 million), Italy (-70.9 million), Germany (-57.9 million), the US (-31.6 million) and FYROM (-30 million). Turkey is the biggest market for primary textile exports, with -158.5 million in 2006.

Subscribe to our Newsletters

Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights, opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox.

By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.