The Greek textile industry has been severely affected by the rising energy costs in the country, which has led to increasing imports of textiles from countries like China, and the Government needs to take necessary action to resolve this issue, said president of the Association of Greek Textile Industry (SEVK) Eleftherios Kourtalis during a meeting with the Deputy Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Change Asimakis Papageorgiou.
During the meeting, held at SEVK, Mr. Kourtalis explained to the Deputy Minister that the exorbitant cost of energy is affecting the competitiveness of the Greek textile industry, and the Government needs to take measures to reduce the energy costs, reports express.gr.
Mr. Kourtalis also informed the Deputy Minister that it has been nearly two years since SEVK wrote letters to the relevant Ministries, but the Government has not taken any measure to reduce excessive energy costs for manufacturing in the country.
According to the SEVK official, the cost of electricity for domestic textile industries is double the European average, which affects the international competitiveness of Greek energy-intensive industries, such as textiles, and jeopardizes the viability of the remaining businesses in the country as well as leads to extinction of thousands of jobs.
Textile industries in the European countries are leading in the international market owing to favourable conditions and multiple measures taken by their respective Governments such as tax breaks, reduced regulatory fees, etc., he added.
At the meeting, representatives from the SEVK, handed over a memorandum to the Deputy Minister stressing the need for reducing the increasing energy costs in the country, stating that the Greek textile industry has been the engine of economic development, and has unfortunately hit the lowest point in the last decade due to issues such as energy costs, massive imports of textiles from China, as well as recession in the economy.
