Greek crisis may disrupt wine and food trade: experts

Greece's beleaguered agriculture sector may take another hit as the uncertainty over the crisis-stricken country's fate threatens to disrupt the food and wine trade, experts have said.While noting that there was a lot of 'speculation and even more tension', Incofruit-Hellas president George Frangistas said that with banks shutting down and political pressure mounting, normal trade cannot go on, reported CNBC.He added that imports had already ground to an immediate stop and exports were limited to the transport available in Greece currently.Some food firms are even refusing to make deliveries unless they are paid upfront and reports have claimed that stores are packed with empty shelves as panic-stricken customers try to buy food.However, currently, despite the economic mayhem, the demand for Greek wines has witnessed a rise. Andrea Englisis, president of Athenee Importers in New York, said that they had not experienced any issues in receiving products from Greece. She said that they have more orders that are to be delivered this week and have been assured that there will be no interruptions in service.Ted Diamantis, president of Diamond Importers and Naturally Greek, said that this consistent rise in demand will help the wine industry brave the current crisis.Agriculture, including crops, dairy, wine, fishing and forestry, constitute about 3.5% of Greece's GDP and represents about 13% of the labour force.