The Greek marble industry is facing serious difficulties in the face of rising imports and weakening competitiveness, the Association of Mining Enterprises (SMEE) has warned. According to the latest data of the National Statistics Service which it cites, exports (including granite) fell 14.3 percent to 377,840 tons in 2001, while imports last year rose to the value of 41.4 million euros from 31.2 million in 2001. According to SMEE, declining competitiveness is directly related to a lack of investment, mainly due to protests by local communities and time-consuming and complex licensing procedures.
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