That dollar amount reflects a 45.3% increase compared to $39.5 billion during 2018.
Year over year, the overall value of Greek exports accelerated by 21.5% from $47.2 billion in 2021.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2022, Greece uses the euro which depreciated by -12.1% against the US dollar since 2018 and diluted by -12.3% from 2021 to 2022. The weaker European Union currency in 2022 made France’s exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Greece’s 5 most valuable export products are refined petroleum oils, petroleum gases, medication mixes in dosage, aluminum plates, sheets or strips, and computers including optical readers. Collectively, that leading quintet of products represents well over one four-fifths (42.5%) of total Greek shipments in 2022. That percentage suggests a concentrated portfolio of products.
Best Customers for Greek Exports
The latest available country-specific data shows that 60% of products exported from Greece were bought by importers in: Italy (10.4% of Greece’s total), Bulgaria (7.8%), Germany (6.5%), Cyprus (5.9%), Türkiye (4.6%), United States of America (4.1%), United Kingdom (3.9%), Spain (3.8%), Libya (3.4%), Romania (3.3%), North Macedonia (3.2%) and France (3.1%).
From a continental perspective, 69.4% of Greece exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 16.4% was sold to Asian importers. Greece shipped another 7.6% worth of goods to Africa.
Smaller percentages went to North America (4.8%), Latin America (1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.9%) led by Australia and the Marshall Islands.
Given Greece’s population of 10.6 million people, its total $57.4 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $5,400 for every resident in the southern European nation. That per-capita metric exceeds the average $4,400 for 2021.
Greece’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Greek global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Greece.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$21 billion (36.6% of total exports)
- Aluminum: $3 billion (5.3%)
- Pharmaceuticals: $2.7 billion (4.7%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $2.4 billion (4.2%)
- Machinery including computers: $2.4 billion (4.2%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $1.9 billion (3.4%)
- Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $1.6 billion (2.7%)
- Fruits, nuts: $1.3 billion (2.3%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $1.18 billion (2.1%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $1.16 billion (2%)
Greece’s top 10 exports accounted for just over two-thirds (67.5%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Mineral fuels including oil: was the fastest-growing among the top 10 export categories, up by 57.7% year over year from 2021 to 2022. That percentage gain was propelled by higher international sales of exported processed oils from Greece.
In second place for improving export sales were animal or vegetable fats, oils and waxes, a product category which rose 28.2%.
Greece’s shipments of machinery including computers posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 21.2% year over year.
The leading decliner among Greece’s top 10 export categories was pharmaceuticals, dragged down by a -20.7% drop.
Note that the results listed above are at the categorized two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. For a more granular view of exported goods at the four-digit HTS code level, see the section Searchable List of Greece’s Most Valuable Export Products further down below.
Products Creating the Greatest Trade Surpluses for Greece
The following types of Greek product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: US$1.2 billion (Up by 6.2% since 2021)
- Aluminum: $931.7 million (Down by -4%)
- Fruits, nuts: $861.8 million (Up by 1.5%)
- Cotton: $589.6 million (Down by -22%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $516.7 million (Up by 20.9%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $418.1 million (Down by -15.5%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $401.1 million (Up by 17%)
- Fish: $300.8 million (Down by -19.7%)
- Stone, plaster, cement, asbestos: $171.1 million (Down by -3.6%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $97.1 million (Down by -5.6%)
Greece has highly positive net exports in the international trade of vegetable, fruit or nut preparations. In turn, these cashflows indicate Greece’s strong competitive advantages under the food preparations product category.
Products Causing the Biggest Trade Deficits for Greece
Overall Greece incurred a -$40.3 billion trade deficit during 2022, a 40.2% increase from the -$30 billion in red ink for 2021.
Below are exports from Greece that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Greece’s goods trail Greek importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$12.9 billion (Up by 92.9% since 2021)
- Machinery including computers: -$3.62 billion (Up by 3.2%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$3.57 billion (Up by 23.7%)
- Vehicles: -$3.56 billion (Up by 16.2%)
- Organic chemicals: -$2.2 billion (Down by -18.5%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$1.5 billion (Up by 76.8%)
- Meat: -$1.4 billion (Up by 21.3%)
- Iron, steel: -$1.31 billion (Up by 59.5%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$1.26 billion (Up by 22.9%)
- Paper, paper items: -$1.1 billion (Up by 30.7%)
Greece has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the mineral fuels including oil subcategory, notably for crude petroleum oil.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Greece’s competitive disadvantages in the international mineral fuels market, but also represent key opportunities for Greece to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations in alternative energy resources.
Major Greek Export Companies
Based on Forbes Global 2000 rankings, here are examples of large international trade players headquartered in Greece.
- Hellenic Petroleum (refined oil, gas)
- Hellenic Telecom Organization (telecommunications)
- Motor Oil Hellas (oil, gas)
Global trade intelligence firm Zepol also mentions the following companies as examples of Greek exporters.
- Inomessiniak (wine, olive oil)
- Interoliva (olives, glass bottles and jars)
- Promelk (t-shirts, brassieres, sweaters)
- St Agelopoulo (olives, live carp)
- Tsalma Marble Of Central North Greece (monument/building stone, wood boxes/cases/crates)
Searchable List of Greece’s Most Valuable Export Products
The following searchable table displays 100 of the most in-demand goods shipped from Greece during 2022. Shown beside each product label is its total export value then the percentage increase or decrease since 2021.
Rank | Greece's Export Product | Value (US$) | Change |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Processed petroleum oils | $17,172,106,000 | +42.2% |
2 | Petroleum gases | $2,613,463,000 | +522.5% |
3 | Medication mixes in dosage | $2,552,747,000 | -22% |
4 | Aluminum plates, sheets, strips | $1,121,011,000 | +20.6% |
5 | Computers, optical readers | $916,855,000 | +55.7% |
6 | Olive oil | $841,976,000 | +24.2% |
7 | Cheese, curd | $802,868,000 | +12.4% |
8 | Whole fish (fresh) | $771,102,000 | +3.9% |
9 | Copper tubes, pipes | $724,667,000 | -1.6% |
10 | Aluminum bars/rods | $714,467,000 | +17.2% |
11 | Other prepared/preserved vegetables (non-frozen) | $685,776,000 | +3.4% |
12 | Cotton (uncarded, uncombed) | $666,737,000 | -17.4% |
13 | Electrical energy | $598,625,000 | +129.2% |
14 | Petroleum oil residues | $567,682,000 | +15.6% |
15 | Insulated wire/cable | $526,334,000 | -2.4% |
16 | Miscellaneous preserved fruits | $508,928,000 | +9.5% |
17 | Aluminum foil (thin) | $504,827,000 | +19.3% |
18 | Aluminum (unwrought) | $450,064,000 | +33.3% |
19 | Coiled iron or non-alloy steel bars, rods | $395,286,000 | -10.7% |
20 | Miscellaneous fruits (fresh) | $390,663,000 | +0.4% |
21 | Solar power diodes/semi-conductors | $383,888,000 | +444.3% |
22 | Cigars/cigarellos, cigarettes | $332,300,000 | -0.4% |
23 | Electric storage batteries | $330,631,000 | +13.2% |
24 | Plastic plates, sheets, film, tape, strips | $325,163,000 | +6.8% |
25 | Other food preparations | $324,001,000 | -3% |
26 | Propylene/olefin polymers | $294,950,000 | -10% |
27 | Models, puzzles, miscellaneous toys | $289,210,000 | +10.5% |
28 | Phone devices including smartphones | $278,988,000 | -1.8% |
29 | Buttermilk, cream, yogurt | $276,431,000 | +0.7% |
30 | Fresh or dried citrus fruit | $256,526,000 | -11.6% |
31 | Products with tobacco, nicotine or substitutes | $249,568,000 | +0% |
32 | Hydraulic cements | $230,613,000 | +12.4% |
33 | Iron or non-alloy steel bars, rods | $224,268,000 | +19.8% |
34 | Wheat | $223,411,000 | +5.4% |
35 | Unmanufactured tobacco, tobacco waste | $220,411,000 | -6.2% |
36 | Gas/liquid/electricity/production meters | $216,286,000 | +12.8% |
37 | Fertilizer mixes | $214,796,000 | +77.4% |
38 | Bread, biscuits, cakes, pastries | $210,929,000 | +16.1% |
39 | Miscellaneous iron or steel tubes, pipes | $201,989,000 | +23.9% |
40 | Iron and steel tubes, pipes | $201,851,000 | +143.3% |
41 | Centrifuges, filters and purifiers | $201,463,000 | +5.5% |
42 | Paper containers, cellulose wadding | $199,471,000 | +51% |
43 | Beauty/makeup/skin care preparations | $195,362,000 | -6.9% |
44 | Aluminum oxide/hydroxide | $192,215,000 | +20.7% |
45 | Piston engine parts | $190,876,000 | +14.3% |
46 | Monument/building stones, art | $189,245,000 | -1.9% |
47 | Other organic cleaning preparations | $188,147,000 | +19.1% |
48 | Packaged insecticides/fungicides/herbicides | $186,273,000 | +15.8% |
49 | Plastic plates, sheets, film, tape, strips | $184,477,000 | +13.9% |
50 | Flour/meal/starch/malt extract food preparations | $183,947,000 | +14.1% |
51 | Apricots, cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums | $174,625,000 | +26.9% |
52 | Styrene polymers | $170,792,000 | +7.9% |
53 | Plastic packing goods, lids, caps | $167,468,000 | +9% |
54 | Synthetic yarn woven fabrics | $160,860,000 | +48.1% |
55 | Miscellaneous iron and steel structures | $160,490,000 | +5.6% |
56 | Nitrogenous fertilizers | $155,246,000 | +219.5% |
57 | Calcareous monument or building stone, marble | $149,353,000 | -40.6% |
58 | Copper waste, scrap | $148,431,000 | +15.6% |
59 | Microphones/headphones/amps | $147,079,000 | -12.5% |
60 | Liquid crystal/laser/optical tools | $142,569,000 | +77.4% |
61 | Sanitary towels, baby napkins/liners | $136,978,000 | +10.2% |
62 | Women's clothing (knit or crochet) | $132,823,000 | -1.9% |
63 | Lower-voltage switches, fuses | $129,511,000 | +8.8% |
64 | Cases, handbags, wallets | $124,326,000 | +88.3% |
65 | Paint/varnish non-aqueous solution | $122,759,000 | +1.8% |
66 | Miscellaneous furniture | $122,487,000 | +23.2% |
67 | Automobile parts/accessories | $121,100,000 | +4.1% |
68 | Copper wire | $120,962,000 | -4.8% |
69 | Temperature-change machines | $118,412,000 | +18.6% |
70 | Vinegar preserved vegetables, fruits, nuts | $116,685,000 | +1.2% |
71 | Jams, fruit jellies, marmalades, pastes | $115,260,000 | +44.4% |
72 | Polyacetal/ether/carbonates | $114,701,000 | +13.9% |
73 | Knit or crochet women's blouses, shirts | $113,550,000 | -5.5% |
74 | Oil seeds | $111,458,000 | +36.7% |
75 | Iron or non-alloy steel products (semi-finished) | $110,633,000 | +163.8% |
76 | Self-adhesive plastic in rolls | $109,899,000 | +11% |
77 | T-shirts, vests (knit or crochet) | $105,945,000 | +4.5% |
78 | Wine | $104,319,000 | +4.1% |
79 | Lifting/loading machinery | $104,269,000 | +4% |
80 | Hair preparations | $103,412,000 | +37.4% |
81 | Plastic tableware, kitchenware, toiletry | $103,192,000 | -25.2% |
82 | Alcohol (including spirits, liqueurs) | $101,345,000 | -0.8% |
83 | Copper bars, rods | $100,127,000 | +15.2% |
84 | Grapes (fresh or dried) | $99,954,000 | -20.8% |
85 | Lamps, lighting, illuminated signs | $96,878,000 | +1.1% |
86 | Miscellaneous plastic items | $96,614,000 | -0.8% |
87 | Organic surface-active goods, soap | $96,055,000 | +18.2% |
88 | Miscellaneous animal feed preparations | $95,574,000 | +24.8% |
89 | Footwear (rubber or plastic) | $95,413,000 | +10.9% |
90 | Footwear (textile) | $94,465,000 | +16.8% |
91 | Iron or steel scrap | $94,390,000 | +16.6% |
92 | Women's clothing (not knit or crochet) | $92,976,000 | +9.5% |
93 | Bridge structures, parts | $91,339,000 | +5.9% |
94 | Yachts, other pleasure/sports vessels | $91,018,000 | -4.7% |
95 | Coated/laminated non-wovens | $90,963,000 | -3.6% |
96 | Hand-drawn paintings, drawings | $90,406,000 | +1378% |
97 | Pasta, couscous | $87,386,000 | +46.2% |
98 | Non-alcoholic drinks (not water/juice/milk) | $85,689,000 | +29.1% |
99 | Paper/paperboard waste, scrap | $84,779,000 | +1.4% |
100 | Jerseys, pullovers (knit or crochet) | $84,561,000 | +12.8% |
These 100 exported goods were worth a subtotal of US$46.1 billion or 80.3% by value for all products exported from Greece during 2022.
In macroeconomic terms, Greece’s total exported goods represent 14.8% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($387.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 14.8% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to 13.9% one year earlier. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Greece’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Greece’s unemployment rate averaged 15% in 2022, up from an average 12.6% for 2021 according to the International Monetary Fund.
Greece’s capital city is Athens.
See also Greece’s Top 10 Imports, Greece’s Top Trading Partners, italy’s Top 10 Exports and Top EU Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook: Country Profiles. Accessed on March 28, 2023
Forbes 2018 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on March 28, 2023
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on March 28, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on March 28, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 28, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 28, 2023
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on March 28, 2023
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Greece. Accessed on March 28, 2023
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on March 28, 2023
Zepol’s company summary highlights by country. Accessed on March 28, 2023