Israel’s exports of goods and services have consistently grown over the past decade, with exception of 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. According to a conservative estimate by the Ministry of Economy and Industry’s Foreign Trade Administration (FTA), Israel’s exports of goods and services will amount to at least $160 billion in 2022, a new record and up more than 10% from last year, when exports of goods and services totaled a then record $144 billion. According to the rate of growth of exports in the first nine months of 2022, exports of goods and services from Israel could reach $165 billion, up 15% from 2021.
The FTA said that the trend that began in 2021 when exports of services from Israel outstripped exports of goods continued in 2022, with services representing 51% of exports and good representing 49%. This figure mainly reflects the sharp increase in exports of software and R&D services, which represent 42% and 14% of services exported, respectively.
There were very significant increases in the exports of goods in chemicals and chemical industry products (+55%), diamonds (+41%) and electrical and mechanical equipment (+18%).
Israel’s exports to the US grew by 19% in 2022, by 113% to the UK, by 115% to Ireland, by 90% to Brazil, by 39% to India, by 95% to Canada, by 85% to Singapore, by 24% to Hong Kong, by 17% to Turkey, by 22% to France and by 181% to the Philippines.
Ministry of Economy and Industry Foreign Trade Administration (FTA) director general Ohad Cohen said that Israel’s export figures are impressive when taking into account the economic volatility worldwide in 2022, due to the repercussions of the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Cohen said, “The interesting, important and encouraging statistic is that the increase in exports extends to almost all industries. The global economic crisis (which resulted, among other things, from the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine) has not harmed Israeli exports, since the composition of our exports is very diverse, both in terms of markets in many countries, some of which are new to us , and also in what we sell. Israeli exports are less dependent on supply chains that were severely affected by Covid.
“One relative advantage is the export of services (mainly security software, etc.), which makes up more than 50% of total exports, and on which Covid and the war in Ukraine have no effect. The field that is nevertheless somewhat damaged to a certain extent due to the war in Ukraine is agricultural exports, which are only about 2% of total exports.”
Looking ahead to 2023, Cohen says that everything depends on the extent of the anticipated economic crisis. “In a ‘usual’ crisis where global growth is not affected too much, it is estimated that trends will continue, and we will not be affected. But if this develops into a crisis such as the sub-prime crisis in 2008 – growth and with it global consumption may decrease, and exports may be affected in some of our major markets.”
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on December 25, 2022.
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