The worsening economic slowdown is seen in Israel's foreign trade figures. The Central Bureau of Statistics today reported that imports of goods (excluding diamonds, ships, and aircraft) fell by over 16% in seasonally adjusted figures in January-November 2012. Trend figures also show a clear and sharp drop in imports. In November, the decline in imports cut across industries and sectors: imports of raw materials (excluding diamonds and energy products) fell by 13.7%, imports of inputs for the paper industry and iron and steel industry fell by 18%, and imports of chemicals and wood products fell by 16% (all figures are annualized trend figures).
The drop in imports was also felt in consumer goods, the main growth engine. Imports of consumer goods fell by 5% in January-November. Imports of non-durable consumer goods (medicines, food and beverages, and clothing and footwear) fell by 3.5%, and imports of durable goods (furniture, appliances, and motor vehicles) fell by almost 8%. The drop in furniture and household appliances was especially strong.
Imports of investment goods (excluding ships and planes) fell by 15%, and imports of machinery and equipment (which account for 74% of imports of investment foods) fell by 20%.
The good news comes from the side of industrial exports, which rose by an annualized 5% in September-November. High-tech industrial exports (half of total industrial exports) rose by an annualized 36.1% in September-November (a monthly average of 2.6%), driven by pharmaceutical exports (mostly by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA)).
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 12, 2012
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