High-tech exports totaled $5.25 billion in the first four months of 2008, 4% less than in the same period in 2007, Manufacturers Association of Israel Economics Division director Ruby Ginel said today, on the basis of the association's monthly analysis of export trends.
Ginel said that there had not been as sharp a drop as this in exports for five years (since the second quarter of 2003). High-tech exports - which include electronic components, computers, telecommunications, control and monitoring equipment, avionics and pharmaceuticals - have dominated industrial exports in recent years, with 80% of export growth generated by technology-intensive industries.
Ginel noted that overall industrial export growth came to a virtual standstill in January-April, rising by just 0.5% to $12.9 billion over the corresponding period last year. He said that the increase in exports in the first four months of the year was generated entirely by mixed-low technology industries (mining and quarrying, rubber, plastics, and metal products), which showed a steep 18% increase in real terms. This increase, he added, could reflect, at least in part, an increase in prices, which was not fully measurable, rather than an actual increase in quantities.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 26, 2008
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