Israeli exports for the first half of 2019 flourished, with the exports of goods and services increasing by 3% to $55.5 billion.
While export growth rates slowed compared to last year, the latest data still reflects a positive trend. As in previous years, much of this increase can be attributed to the accelerated growth in service sector exports, which added 15% to $27.2 billion in the first six months of 2019.
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The services sector accounted for about 49% of total Israeli exports during this period, its highest level ever. High-tech services exports made up some 60% of the sector's revenue and 30% of Israel's total goods and services' exports.
In contrast, the commodities sector dropped 5% in H1-2019, to about $27 billion.
The bulk of the decline is attributed to a sharp, 33% drop in diamond exports. The sector's performance in the first half of 2019 came to about $2.6 billion.
Agricultural exports also experienced a slump compared to 2018, falling 3% to $710 million.
Analysis of commodity exports data by geographical region showed that exports to Asia declined by 19% compared to the corresponding period last year and amounted to $4.5 billion. EU exports grew by 12% to $9.1 billion, and exports to the US in the first half of 2019 saw a 3% increase to $5.5 billion.
Israel Export Institute CEO Gadi Arieli said that the figures "reflect the resilience of Israeli exports."
On Monday, the Central Bureau of Statistics revealed that unemployment in Israel fell to 3.7% in July from 4.1% in June.
The employment rate – the proportion of employment in the general population – slipped from 63.4% in June to 63.1% in July.
