Greek exports grew strongly in the first half of the year, extending a rally which prevailed early in 2018, contributing to a further reduction of the country's trade deficit, the Panhellenic Exporters Association said in a report released on Tuesday.
The report noted that first-half export performance created optimism for the outlook of Greek exports, which continue to support consistently the recovery of the Greek economy despite existing hurdles such as high taxation and capital controls.
The association, in an analysis of provisional data released by Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), said that exports grew 24.8 pct in June to 3.0 billion euro from 2.4 billion in the same month in 2017 (including oil products), while exports excluding oil products grew 15.5 pct to 2.07 billion euro. In the six-month period from January to June, exports grew 15.7 pct to 16.4 billion euro, while excluding oil products exports rose 13.2 pct to 11.1 billion euro.