Greek financial crisis hits hip pocket here

Australian shoppers can expect a hit to their hip pocket if the Greek economy continues to flounder, say leading importers of Greek-made products.

"Demand depends on price today, and Australia is a funny market, they go for price," says Archie Tsoukras, owner of Tirnavos Food, Wine and Spirits.

His company supplies some of the biggest retailers in Australia, including Coles and Woolworths. He explains that as the value of the Australian dollar against the euro drops, the cost of importing products goes up. This price rise is then passed on to the retailer and subsequently the shopper.

"Some importers lock in rates, and I did, so for the next three months I'll probably be alright, it won't have any impact on me, but after that if the euro goes further down then we will have to increase the price," he says, which could discourage market interest in Greek-made products.

It is also feared that supplies of Greek products could dry up altogether, if the Greek financial crisis gets any worse. Despite being largely privatised in Greece, the maritime industry is heavily unionised, which could see it shut down if strikes protesting the implementation of strict austerity measures spread to the docks.

This could see the cutting of supply lines out of Greece and the cessation of Greek products, including oils, cheeses and wines, hitting Australian shores.

National Marketing Manager of Flox Wines and Spirits, Loukas Papargiris, says lengthy delays could see contracts with large retailers compromised.

"The impact it will have here with the major liquor accounts like Dan Murphy's and Woolworths stores is that if our product's not on the shelves, they may in turn replace it with another product," he says.

"We need the product here in order to maintain the product within the larger liquor accounts, that's our main concern," though he says the company has taken steps to minimise the damage.

"We tend to buy up large and we've already placed a few orders, so we've tried to pre-empt it."

Both importers agree however, that if Greece is to stimulate international interest in its economy and thereby stave off a full-scale economic crash, it must proactively push exports harder.

"The only way to get out if this is to boost exports. And the only way to do it is to get off their arses and try to sell," says Tsoukras.

Papargiris is taking it upon himself to promote Greek exports abroad, by becoming a buyer's agent.

"I'm currently negotiating with a Greek company in Greece and they're exporting through us to other countries because of the lack of Greek communication."

He says that by providing a more professional Australian-based trade avenue with the rest of the world, Greek companies can ensure the value of their products does not drop on global markets.

"At present Greek companies are struggling pretty hard so they're quite likely also to sell the product at any cost, which is something we try to avoid," he says.

Keeping prices up stimulates economic growth by guaranteeing income for the producer, the exporter and the importer. An unfortunate consequence is a hit to the hip-pocket of shoppers.