At the annual General Assembly of the Association of Greek Textile Manufacturers (SEVK), the association’s president, Eleftherios Kourtalis, began his address by stressing the need to accelerate substantive reforms to boost business productivity and the competitiveness of production.
He said: “Modernising institutions and rebuilding our productive base cannot be delayed any longer, particularly in view of serious geopolitical upheaval. They require not dogmatic insistence, but broader social and political consensus to rid our economy of longstanding weaknesses, encourage high-quality investment and chart a more dynamic path to growth”.
He added: “A shift towards quality tourism, more substantial support for innovative industrial investment and the gradual achievement of energy self-sufficiency, which ensures strategic autonomy, are the pillars of a coherent, dynamic growth plan that we must implement without wavering”.
A role as an engine of growth
He went on to say: “It is clear that the textile industry, a traditional pillar of growth for our country, is once again being called on to play a leading role in the country’s new drive to modernise. That is because it is not an industry of the past, as our banking system seems to believe, but a modern tool for the country’s future growth”.
Mr Eleftherios Kourtalis also said: “The Greek textile industry is entitled to demand a significant upgrade in its role in the transformation of our economy, which international developments have made unavoidable. Our industry has ample supplies of excellent-quality raw material, and exporting it unprocessed is the wrong choice”.
He also stressed the importance of the people in the sector: “We have dynamic business families with a long track record, workers with extensive experience and exceptional skills, and businesses capable of steadily increasing production of internationally traded goods. Through continuous renewal, technological modernisation and vertical integration, we can once again take on the role of an engine of growth”.
Export performance
On the sector’s performance, the SEVK president said: “Exports from the apparel and textile sector totalled €1.54bn in 2025, down from €1.66bn in 2024, a fall of 7.2%”.
Textile exports totalled €425m, a decline of 4.5%. Cotton exports also fell significantly as prices dropped, reaching €338m.
The four demands
Outlining the sector’s demands, Mr Eleftherios Kourtalis focused on four areas:
First, a sustained reduction in energy costs is essential to the industry’s viability. The textile industry must be explicitly included among the eligible sectors in all support packages.
Second, modernising businesses requires the relevant investment plans to be treated as strategic investments in terms of the level of state subsidy, with barriers to inclusion under the Development Law removed.
Third, the sector’s limited liquidity needs to be bolstered by the banking system, backed by state guarantees, so that new production opportunities can be seized.
Fourth, the sector is calling for effective restructuring of total business debt, which stood at €240bn at the end of 2025, through more reasonable interest charges and the write-off of penalties.
Concluding his address, the SEVK president said: “The country needs a new productive identity. I am optimistic about the future of our economy because there is no more room for inaction on investment and reform. The state must become