Greece Has Advanced Into Economic Boom

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30348, 25 January 1964, Page 19

Greece Has Advanced Into Economic Boom

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter— Copyright) ATHENS. Greece, once a warsitricken nation plagued with Communist troubles, is enjioying a contnuing economic boom. Latest figures show the country is still forging ahead on most economic fronts. For instance, per capita income has more than doubled in the last 12 years and is expected to keep climbing this year. Mr Panayotis Pipinelis, Prime Minister of the caretaker Cabinet, gave an imposing set of figures .in a recent speech to illustrate Greece’s economic progress. First, he recalled the heritages of World War II and of the Communist rebellion which followed from 1945 to 1949—lack of confidence in Greek currency, preference for gold, flight of capital and the inadequacy of private deposits at the banks. All this, he said, has been replaced by a stable currency, the return of prices to normal levels, and the reinstatement of saving.

To support his optimism for the future, the Prime Minister said that by the end of 1962 private deposits had reached a total of 24,734 m drachmas (about £3oom) and the number of depositors had jumped from 360,000 in 1957 to 1.224,000 at the end of 1962, showing that about one half of the families of Greece now have some savings. Primary Produce

Another figure indicative of Greece’s steady progress is that of gross national income which has shown an average annual increase between 1950 and 1962 of 6.2 per cent—a rise considered materially higher than that achieved in many industrially advanced countries of the West.

The headway made in Greece’s economy is also reflected in statistics given by Mr Pipinelis in the agricultural field: wheat production in Greece which stood at 850,000 tons in 1959 reached 1.770,000 tons in 1962; tobacco production increased from 58,000 to 91,500 tons; unginned cotton from 79,000 to 253,000 tons; potatoes from 347,000 to

484,000 tons; and citrus fruit from 121,000 to 312,000 tons. Even more striking is the rate of- increase in manufacturing activity, an annual average of 8.4 per cent compared with an annual average increase rate of 5.6 per cent in the production of agricultural goods. Electric power increased from a production of 665 m kilowatt hours in 1950 to 2740 m in 1962 and 3130 m last year.

The Prime Minister stressed that it would have been impossible to achieve this economic progress without carrying out a large-scale programme of public and private investment. State Investment Last year a programme of State investment totalling 6250 m drachmas (about £7om) was put into operation and was satisfactorily implemented. The increase of investments and of all economic activity in general is being facilitated by a corresponding activity of credit facilities, made possible by the continuous increase in the volume of savings. During the first seven months of last year total deposits increased by 3748 m drachmas (about £42m).

The Prime Minister also pointed out that Greece's balance of payments has developed satisfactorily. During the first six months of 1963 exports increased by 19 per cent. Payments for imports during the same period also rose but the widening trade gap was more than compensated by the increase in net invisible receipts. The Prime Minister said that Greece’s association with the European Economic Community, which became operative on November 1, 1962, is beginning to bear fruit in the shape of an increase ot investments and the progressive reduction of duties on exported Greek products. Finally, Greece’s economic and political stability in recent years is also increasingly attracting foreign investors. According to figures by the Ministry for Economic Co-ordination, the number of applications submitted to it for import capital from November 1, 1953, to the end of 1962 was 474 for a total investment of about £200,000,000.