Exports Up 3% in First Half of 2019

Exports from Israel continued to grow in the first half of 2019, rising 3% over the amount exported in the first half of 2018, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported. The total amount exported in the first half of the year was over $55.5 billion. According to analysts at Globes, the numbers show that Israel’s exports were among the strongest among OECD member nations.

The growth was largely due to the increase in exports of services, up by 15% in the first six months of 2019 compared to a year earlier. Services were responsible for $27.2 billion in exports, 49% of the total exported in the period.

Most of the services exported were in the high-tech sector. That sector sold $16.4 billion of services in the first six months of the year, a 25% increase over the period in 2018. Overall, high-tech is responsible for 60% of the money coming into Israel from services, and 30% of all exports, including goods and services. Sectors that “lost” during the period included finished goods, with polished diamonds leading the way, with a 33% fall in exports. Agricultural exports also fell during the period, by 3% over their level the previous year.

Gadi Arieli, head of the Israel Export Institute, said that “the data for the first half of 2019 show the strength of the Israeli economy and especially of the high-tech sector. Exports are an important engine of growth for the Israeli economy. We will do everything we can to assist Israeli companies to expand their activities overseas.”