The Greek Economy :: essays research papers fc

The Grecian EconomyAgricultureThe Greek economy depends a lot on agriculture. One quarter of the Greekworkforce is engaged in farming, and agriculture constitutes rough 15% of the interior(prenominal) production. Not much attention has been drawn on the agriculturalsector of the economy. The farms are pretty small, the division of inheritingland has reduced the average size to 3,4 hectares (8 acres) and it is reallydifficult to use mechanised equipment efficiently. Yields are also low collect tothe dryness and erosion of the soil. Lets take a look at the yearly output ofsome major crops tobacco 142000, wheat 2.6 million, tomatoes 1.9 million,oranges 780000, corn 2.1 million, sugar common beet 1.9 million, grapes 1.6 million,olives 1.5 million, potatoes 850000 and cotton 222000. Livestock included some10.8 million sheep, 3.5 million goats, 800000 head of cattle, 31 million poultryand 1.2 million pigs.Forestry and FishingThe Greek government owns the two-thirds of the forestland and has materialisedher plans i.e. to change the trees that were destroyed during World War II.About 2.9 million cu m of timber were annually cut in the late 80s andapproximately the 75% of the product was hardwood. Fish exports are limitedbecause of the widespread consumption of fish products within Greece. However inrecent years thousands of tons of fish are exported apiece year, due to the everincreasing development of fish farms in the country. In the late 80s the annualcatch totalled 135000 tons, from which 80% was consumed within Greece. Spongesare the main leatherneck product exported.MiningMining is of little importance to the Greek economy. We should mention thoughthe annual output of minerals in tons bauxite 2.3 million, iron ore 1.3 millionand magnesite 884400. Also, about 279200 cu m of marble were quarried. Petroleum,salt, chromium, silver, zinc were also produced.ManufacturingApproximately one fifth of the Greek workforce is engaged in manufacturing,which contribut es 18% of the annual pull in production. The manufacturedproducts include food, beverages, tobacco, textiles, clothing, chemicals,cement and wine. Athens is the manufacturing center of Greece.Currency and BankingThe national currency of Greece is drachma. The central banking institution isthe Bank of Greece. The biggest banks of Greece are the National Bank of Greece,with 470 domestic branches and the Agricultural Bank of Greece with 420 branches.Foreign TradeGenerally Greece spends each year much more on imports than it receives fromexports. This "imbalance" is offset to a certain issue by tourist revenues andby remittances from Greeks living abroad. In the 80s the imports totalled 3trillion drachmas and exports earned 1.5 trillion drachmas.