As the CEO of Gaea, an exporter of authentic Greek produce, I constantly have to assess what the turmoil with the Greek economy means for my business - and for international trade in general.

The view of the Greek business community is deeply divided. On the one hand there are the business leaders associated with the former economic practices that have greatly contributed to today’s situation. These companies prospered doing business with the state. And then there’s the rest of the business community that reaped few gains, and suffered from the general lack of transparency and the non-enforcement of rules and regulations.

Many of the latter companies see the crisis as a major opportunity to reform Greece from the ground up, to erect a cleaned-up state and a level playing field with success built on talent and merit.

Sadly, today’s crisis was inevitable. A combination of soft loans from abroad and actions by the Greek state led to today’s drama. But I greatly hope Greece in this catharsis will not lose its place in the EU and will stay in the Eurozone.

Therefore Greek business leaders must take action and manage their way out of the crisis. At Gaea we’re absolutely intent on forging a positive pathway out of today’s turmoil, and we’re confident that our strong export sales, innovative products and domestic partner initiatives will help us to do this.

At Gaea we continue to thrive in spite of the tough economic conditions. In Greece as a nation food retail sales have dropped by 15% last year and another 15% this year. Gaea has bucked this trend, with domestic sales rising 4% last year and 9% this year.

Our overall business is very healthy with sales growing 15% in the year to date, and with international sales accounting for 82% of our business, we’re not overexposed to any one market.

As a business we have not exploited the situation to implement pay cuts or reduce operational costs, but have provided assurance that we will support our team and families during this difficult time.

As a company we have a strong vision and values of which we have not lost sight. The company has an ethos of compassion that not only extends to its employees but also to the environment and community. We are the first olive oil producer worldwide with a zero carbon footprint. Equally we are working to attain similar credentials for our water footprint.

With a large overseas customer base, including distribution in China and Russia, we use our strong established business relationships to ensure continuity. Gaea sees the crisis as an opportunity and has created a number of joint ventures with Greek companies that produce excellent products but realise that to survive they must look to overseas markets.

Gaea has been feted by the Greek media for its entrepreneurial spirit and as a role model for the “new” Greek economy. While we can’t predict the outcome, we hope that, at least politically, decisions will be made so that we can move into a more stable period albeit an austere one. Thereafter a combination of strong leadership, resilience and innovation and a desire for change will help us all weather the storm.