Despite the weakening of the growth rate in Greece and Germany in 2023 and 2024 and with the downward trend in the eurozone trade intensity observed after 2022, in this environment, bilateral trade between Greece and Germany continues to be strengthened.

Constant imports and investment

According to the IOBE study for the first nine months of 2024, imports from Germany increased to 6.5 billion euros, while Greece’s exports to Germany remained stable to 2.6 billion euros. The value of imports from Germany accounts for 10.5% of the total value of Greek imports, while the share of intra -Community trade remained close to 21%. Significant increase was recorded in fuel, consumer goods by 3.9% in 2024, while in capital goods imports rose by 3.6%.

“The influence of German business on the Greek economy will continue to be upward. The latest developments in Donald Trump’s commercial policy create great uncertainties with the overall image of world trade being extremely fluid. The two countries will insist on supporting their bilateral economic relations, and the Hellenic -German Chamber will move in this direction, ”says Dr. Dr. South South.

Germany has been alternating in the first two places with Luxembourg in ranking with the countries of origin of direct investment in Greece in terms of total capital in the last 11 years. For every euro GDP produced by businesses of the Greek -German business community in Greece, GDP of Greece is estimated to increase by € 1.6. In employment, each job position in these businesses supports 2.9 jobs throughout the Greek economy.

“German investors will continue to seek new opportunities in Greece, placing new capital in areas such as energy, new technologies, infrastructure, real estate and tourism. In Greece, German investments are widely dispersed, both in industry and by region, ”says South.

Exports and high revenue from tourism

In the first nine months of 2024, total Greek exports to Germany increased marginally by 0.4%, compared to 1.7% in the corresponding period of 2023. A strong decrease was recorded in 2024, as in 2023, in the fuel category with a decline of 31.3% in the last year, while consumer goods and consumer goods and consumer equipment. Capital goods and industrial supplies increased by 6.4%in the first 2024.

The General Manager of IOBE, Professor of the Athens University of Economics and Business, Nikos Vettas

The food industry remains the largest export sector to Germany, with a reinforced share of 25.9%. Following are the exports of basic metals and drugs, while an increase in share is recorded in the exports of the electrical equipment industry, as well as in the agricultural sector, which also shows an increased share, to 7.5%.

In the first half of 2024, service receipts from Germany further reinforced € 1.8 billion. Germany is in the first place in terms of tourism receipts and arrivals of the Greek economy with 17.1% and 13.3% respectively in 2024, making this category particularly important in bilateral economic relations. Travel receipts from Germany reached 3.7 billion in 2024, with Germany’s share of tourist receipts exceeding 15% in 7 of the 13 Greek regions in 2024.

In the first half of 2024, the influx of primary income from work from Germany reached € 8.0 million, accounting for 7.0% of total inputs, declining compared to 2023.

Shielding in front of new challenges

“Greece is coming out of a long crisis, struggling to fill the investment gap that has been created and to balance the departure of its productive potential. The German economy has been affected by a large increase in energy costs and turbulence in the automotive industry, “IOBE and Professor of Economics of Athens, Nikos Vettas, told Deutsche Welle.

According to him, German investments in Greece are not timeless, but medium -term and long -term breath in sectors that incorporate technology. “They show a stability, something we live in is very important in times. All this together shows how important one country is to the other and at the same time that relationships between them can grow even further, “the Greek professor stresses.

The apparent imposition of US duties, according to Nikos Veta, may be a freezing of exports to specific areas and affecting Greek -German economic relations. “Production will necessarily go elsewhere. Some cars, for example, may be sold in Europe. If the duties are consolidated, many businesses will rearrange their production to sell in more areas of the globe with their subsidiaries, or become the same multinationals to avoid import duties. There will be a freeze of new investments until it looks like the new landscape will be, ”he says.

He is concerned about the reflection consequences for businesses, which greatly depend on their own production from the purchase of products from other businesses. “If there is a burglary of these relationships, what we will see is that overall production will retreat and the cost of production will increase,” he says.