Retreat appears in the demand of one of the main exportable products of Greece, of fuelleading to ‘jump’ the commercial deficit and putting a “triceps” in trying to boost the extroversion of the Greek economy and improve the current account balanced transactions that are considered to be without the long -term budgetary stability.
ELSTAT data are revealing: the trade deficit was expanded by 25.3% in March, partly due to the milder increase in imports, but mainly due to the decline in exports, with the differences being visible if they are examined with and without fuel.
Specifically, in March, the value of exports amounted to EUR 3,935 billion compared to € 4,295 billion last year, down 8.4%. However, the corresponding value, if excluded, increased by EUR 203.1 million, ie 6.7%to EUR 3,218 billion. This is a decline in fuel exports of over 710 million euros.
As strange as it may seem for a non -oil producer, Greece is in its first 20 export oil and derivative economies, due to refineries operating in the country and producing refined fuel products.
Indeed, from the debt crisis onwards, petroleum products have become one of the main, if not the main in value, exportable product of the country. It should be noted that in the 12 months of 2024, the oil and fuel was recorded the largest annual export reduction from all categories of goods, falling by 9.5%, and in the first two months of 2025 there was a drop of exports by 1.9%.
What about the demand for Greek fuels
Demand for fuel internationally is a mirror for the growth potential of the economy, as growth overtakes activity and more energy is needed to “supply” it. On the contrary, when there is a slowdown in the economy and fears of recession, it is reflected in the markets of oil and its derivatives.
The world markets of “black gold” have been flexed in recent months. A combination of factors, decline in demand and increasing supply, with the last case of OPEC +’s decision to triple production, have dropped oil prices into the “Tartaras”, along with gasoline, despite the fact that reductions in Greek stations are restrained.
In the Greek case, the exports of petroleum products we produce “suffocate” in the slowdown environment to many economies internationally. And this is because before the consequences of the currency policy tightening of recent years, Donald Trump’s trade war has come to the mixture, which has exacerbated the uncertainty and fears of economic stagnation, even putting us in the Germans, as well as the basic importers of our products.
Another important factor concerns the sphere of exchange rates. As the euro has made a rally against the dollar with the latter being pressured after the US president’s jokes, European products are becoming less competitive. As international oil and its products are expressed in dollars, Greek refining products suddenly gain a competitive disadvantage in international markets over third parties, resulting in importers preferring the cheapest solutions.
In any case, the decline of exports to the most dynamic product sent to our foreign markets our country does not foresee anything good for the economy, and especially in the field of balancing our trade balance, which is a timeless “wound” for our public finances.