Greece’s exports, excluding petroleum products, grew 4.9% in the first four months of 2025, signaling a diversified resilience in the economy even as overall exports saw a significant decline in April due to a sharp drop in energy-related trade.
Preliminary data
released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority, analyzed by the
Panhellenic Exporters Association, highlights this shift.
Overall exports in
April fell by 14.5% year-on-year, dropping to 3.83 billion euros from
4.48 billion euros in the same month last year, representing a 648.3
million euro decline.
Without the volatile
oil products, the decline was more moderate at 2.7%, totaling 3.12
billion euros.
Imports also saw a
decrease in April, falling by 11.4% year-on-year, down 857.6 million
euros to 6.67 billion euros.
This led to a
narrowing of the trade deficit to 2.84 billion euros, a 6.9%
reduction from April 2024. However, when oil products were excluded,
the non-oil trade gap widened slightly by 0.7%.
For the broader
January to April 2025 period, total exports reached 15.98 billion
euros, a 5.1% decrease from 16.83 billion euros in the previous year.
Crucially, non-oil exports showed positive growth, rising to 12.43
billion euros from 11.85 billion euros, a gain of 583.9 million
euros.
Imports for the same
four-month period declined 2.9% to 27.06 billion euros.
When oil is
excluded, imports increased 2.3% to 21.37 billion euros. The overall
trade deficit remained stable at 11.08 billion euros, while the
non-oil deficit narrowed by 1.1% to 8.94 billion euros.
Geographically,
April saw an 8.2% drop in exports to European Union countries and a
sharper 22.6% decline to non-EU countries.
However, when oil
products are excluded, exports to EU countries were up slightly by
0.6%, while non-EU exports still fell by 8.8%.
In specific product
categories, food exports — now Greece’s top export sector —
rose 3.6% in April year-on-year.
Machinery exports
surged 11.7%, and vegetable oils climbed 5.3%. Chemical exports
remained relatively flat with a 0.7% change.
The steepest decline
was observed in petroleum products, down 44.6%. Other categories such
as raw materials and beverages and tobacco also saw declines of 10.3%
and 2.9%, respectively.
The data suggest
that Greece’s export resilience in 2025 is increasingly driven by
its diversified sectors, moving away from a traditional reliance on
oil-related products.
