Greece highly benefits from water buffalo farming, as the industry is gaining more and more ground, while products such as milk, yogurt or meat are getting increasingly popular across the country, providing a satisfactory income to the farmers.
According to Vasilis Bambidis, professor at the Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, buffalo farmers have 25% less costs than cattle farmers, since they do not have to use any kind of special food for the animals.
Water buffalo farming is ideal near lakes or rivers, especially in northern Greece. Most farmers are located near Lake Kerkini in Serres. In fact, there are a total of 30 water buffalo farms across Greece (4,000 animals), and 20 of them (3,000 animals) are located near Lake Kerkini.
Before World War II, there were at least 70,000 water buffalos in Greece, explained Bampidis. However, their numbers increased dramatically, reaching a total of 384 animals in 1984, due to immigration. In the 60s, 70s and 80s, numerous Greeks left for other countries, thus abandoning their farms.
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By Ioanna Zikakou
Work gets under way on the expansion of the cruise terminal in Piraeus this year, set to make it the biggest cruise hub in the Eastern Mediterranean, allowing for the docking of the biggest and best cruise ships, whose length exceeds 300 meters.
The investment is worth 136 million euros, which is 95 percent subsidized by the European Union.
Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) made the announcement on the occasion of the arrival of the first cruise shop this year, the MSC Sinfonia, which moored at Piraeus on Saturday.
To read more, please visit ekathimerini.com
By Nikos Roussanoglou
Exports have played a key role in Greece’s economic recovery. During the recession, exports were necessary so that Greek companies could expand beyond the country’s borders. According to the official statistical data, Greek exports have shown a slight decrease in 2014, mainly due to the economic and political developments in neighboring countries and trading partners, however, the country’s progress in the field has been significant.
Around 65% of Greek exportable products end up in EU countries, during a period of weak economic growth, where Russia imposed an embargo on European imports and countries who were traditionally linked with Greece in regards to trade, such as Balkan countries, North Africa and the Middle East are being ravaged by the recession and political crises.
The Exporters’ Association of Northern Greece (SEVE) released official data about Greek exports, after Eurostat’s research on the trade of goods within the Eurozone for the first nine months of 2014. According to the official numbers, the Eurozone’s goods exports rose by 1.3% compared to last year, reaching a total of 2.6 trillion euros, while Greek exports dropped by 4.4%.
In 2014, Greece placed 13th in the Eurozone exports ranking and presented the third largest trade deficit (15.7 billion euros), following France and Spain.
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By Ioanna Zikakou
Both good and bad news for the Greek business world emerged from the official data of the General Commercial Registry (GEMI) for 2014. During the previous year, a positive balance between companies forced to shut down and newly established ones was recorded.
In 2014, 33,954 new companies were established, while 30,427 companies went out of business. According to Greek daily newspaper “Kathimerini,” what essentially happened is that market shrinking possibly reached its limits, while at the same time it becomes clear there was a further limitation of sources (bank lending and equity) that could fund even a small business.
Compared to the previous years, newly established companies may exceed those forced to shut down, but they are also significantly fewer than those established in 2012 and 2013. Specifically, in 2012 and 2013, 43,541 and 42,790 new companies were established, respectively. Similarly, 34,279 companies went out of business in 2012 and 33,770 in 2013.
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By Aggelos Skordas
Chinese construction magnate, Yan Jiehe, is turning his gaze toward the Greek market — characterized by many as risky due to the latest stormy political and economic developments — saying that he is on the hunt for investment opportunities in Greece.
Yan Jiehe is the founder of China’s largest private sector company by revenues and has amassed one of the country’s largest fortunes since establishing China Pacific Construction Group (CPCG) in 1995, making him China’s seventh-richest man. It should be noted that last year CPCG, which builds public infrastructure, was ranked 166th on Fortune’s list of the world’s 500 biggest companies, while last week the tycoon confirmed he is chasing local governments for unpaid bills.
At the same time, Mr. Jiehe acknowledged that CPCG is chasing the adventure in risky overseas markets. “I will soon go to eastern Europe; FYROM, Albania and Greece. I want to invest in infrastructure there and intend to buy construction companies,” he said, adding that he was unfazed by the latest iteration of Greece’s debt crisis.
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By Aggelos Skordas
An agreement between Piraeus Port Organisation (OLP) and the Chinese-owned Cosco subsidiary Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT) which was recently ratified by the Greek Parliament (end of 2014), paves the way for Cosco to proceed with the construction and exploitation of West Pier III of the Piraeus port container terminal by PCT, the construction on behalf of OLP of a new Oil Terminal, as well as the refitting of Pier II and East Pier Container Terminal III with new machinery.
The works are expected to be completed by 2021. The new business plan will ensure the growth prospects of Piraeus' port as a gateway into Europe for Asian products. Piraeus port now ranks 43rd among the world’s largest and among the top 10 European.
It is estimated that by 2016, Piraeus port will be handling 4.7 million TEUs (containers), from 3 million it handled in 2012. This increase in volume could place Piraeus at the top of all Mediterranean ports.
To read more, please visit greeknewsagenda.gr
Seventeen Greek clinics, rehabilitation centres and hospitals are among the World’s Best Hospitals for 2015, as recommended by the United Nations Diplomatic Council (DC) a Think Tank serving as a bridge between diplomacy, economy and society. Each year, the Diplomatic Council awards certificates in some of its selected forums (computer software, educational material etc.).
One of the first certificates issued was the "DC Best Hospitals of the World" certificate which is granted to hospitals after extensive quality verification lasting several months.
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The success stories of Greek entrepreneurs who defied the economic crisis and prospered is the subject of a recent feature article in The Washington Times. Penny Vomva is a fashion designer who took the risk to open a store and sell her creations in prestigious Voukourestiou street in downtown Athens.
Now RIEN, her storefront, sits next to Dior and Prada. Her handmade leather handbags sell for 180 to 450 euros, rather steep for the crisis-stricken Greek market, but Vomva says business is good and it would have been better if it wasn’t for the crisis.
The 35-year-old designer started in 2008, at the beginning of the Eurozone crisis. She began showcasing her clothes in a hotel suite and now has two stores, one in Athens and the other in the cosmopolitan island of Mykonos. Like many other new Greek business owners, she is focusing on exports. Switzerland and Saudi Arabia are her key targets, selling through an online shopping site and keeping costs low. Vomva has two employees, so she does most of the work herself. Sales are up, however, so she is optimistic.
“It is really difficult to work in this crisis,” she said. “If I hadn’t studied business administration before getting in the fashion industry, I wouldn’t have made it.”
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By Philip Chrysopoulos
Internationally-acclaimed Greek singer Demis Roussos died early morning on Sunday January 25, 2015. Artemios “Demis” Ventouris Roussos was born June 15, 1946 and had international hit records as a solo performer in the 1970s after having been a member of Aphrodite’s Child, a progressive rock group that also included Vangelis. He has sold over 60 million albums worldwide.
Roussos was born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt, in a family where his father George (engineer Yorgos Roussos) was Greek and mother Nelly Mazloum was Egyptian of Italian origin. His parents lost their possessions during the Suez Crisis and consequently decided to move to Greece.
After his family settled in Greece, Roussos participated in various music bands, starting with The Idols at the age of 17 years.
He became widely known in 1968 with the band Aphrodite’s Child, as a vocalist and later as the bassist. His distinctive vocal style launched the international career of the band, especially after his participation in their “666” album.
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By Ioanna Zikakou
World’s most used search engine, Google, announced earlier this month the top Internet searches of its Greek users for 2014. As the company explained, the results of the research concern the year’s fastest rising searches and gives a fair image of what Greeks were interested the most, as well as the latest trends in terms of their online searches, based on the billions of queries made through Google each year.
As expected, and following the publicity it has managed to attract, one of the world’s most important archaeological discoveries, the Macedonian tomb in Casta hill of Amphipolis is placed at the top of the Greeks’ searches for 2014. The revelation of the Amphipolis excavation secrets topped the Greek media headlines for several months as the research was evolving gradually.
The second most searched event was the local elections of 2014, which was one of the most significant political events in the country, while newly launched public broadcaster, NERIT, was ranked third. The top five is completed with Eurovision 2014, and the question “where do I vote,” which is related to the local elections, ranked second.
The top 10 fastest rising searches in Greece for 2014:
Amphipolis
Elections 2014
NERIT
Eurovision 2014
Where do I vote?
University bases 2014
Football World Cup 2014
ypes (Interior Ministry)
iPhone 6
Election results
Furthermore, the most searched persons of Greek users indicates their interest for celebrities, both domestic and foreign. The most searched persons in Greece for 2014 were Robbin Williams, Sakis Boulas, a Greek actor and singer who died of cancer earlier this year, followed by Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Schumacher, whose injury last January occupied the international news for weeks, and Eurovision’s transsexual winner Conchita.
To read more, please visit greekreporter.com
By Aggelos Skordas