Price Hikes Loom in Greece After Easter Market Calm

With the Easter season now over—during which supermarket shelves and refrigerators remained largely stable despite earlier fears—the market is entering what insiders describe as a “high-risk zone.” After six weeks of war in the Middle East and the collapse of the latest peace talks, the international environment is once again turning bleak.

Oil prices continue to climb, and the energy market is placing unbearable pressure on businesses. As is widely known, most suppliers of consumer goods refrained from raising prices during the Easter period, choosing instead to participate smoothly in the intense “war of offers” that characterizes holiday retail. However, they had already signaled that they would reassess their commercial strategies after Easter. In the meantime, they absorbed the excess costs caused by rising energy prices—costs that affect everything from operations to transportation.

For many companies, however, the situation created by the war in the Middle East is far more complex than it appears. Export activity to the region has already been suspended. While the bulk of Greek exports to the area consists of fuel, for companies exporting other products, the revenue loss is still significant.