Greek industry’s pillars are food, aluminum, chemicals and, in recent years, pharmaceuticals, with their contribution to total sales of industrial products increasing compared to that of petroleum products.
The list – despite any competitiveness problems Greek industry still faces – is a sign of health for both the industry itself and the national economy as a whole.
The increasing importance of these sectors is significantly related to the increase in exports recorded in the last decade, with exports proving a lifeline for many businesses during the economic crisis, although the production and exports of products with even greater added value are still desired.
According to data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), the total value of industrial products sold in 2024 by 4,807 surveyed enterprises amounted to €65.27 billion. In 2023, the total value of industrial products sold by 4,894 surveyed enterprises amounted to €63.64 billion.
The oil sector also had the largest contribution to the total value of industrial products sold in 2024, with 29.30%. However, the steady decline in its contribution in recent years, with the exception of 2022, when the value of sales increased due to the price explosion caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is a strong indication of the strengthening of other important manufacturing sectors that depend much more on raw materials than domestic production, such as the food sector, sectors with high added value, such as the pharmaceutical industry. In 2013, for example, the contribution of petroleum products to the total value of industrial products sold was almost 40%.
The contribution of food increased slightly in 2024 to 22.2% from 21.6% in 2023, basic metals rose to 10% from 9.7% in 2023, chemicals remained at 4.8%, and pharmaceuticals increased slightly to 4.1% from 3.9% in 2023.
The first time pharmaceuticals appeared in the sectors with the largest contribution to the total value of industrial product sales was in 2020, the year of the pandemic, when their contribution reached 4.8%, surpassing plastics (4.5%).
