Athens Launches ‘Buy Greek’ Drive

ATHENS —  Supermarkets around the country Monday began a two-week “buy Greek” promotional campaign, slashing prices in efforts to counter a consumer trend to ignore Greek products and buy foreign goods.

Official statistics showed that last year that Greece, burdened by a foreign debts of $16 billion, imported twice as much as it exported. Total Greek imports amounted to $9.7 billion compared to imports of $4.6 billion.

The government-sponsored campaign, which has cut the prices of such traditional Greek products as olive oil, honey, nuts, and wine by up to 25%, aims to reduce rapidly growing consumer demands for foreign imports.