Israel export to Egypt drops 33%

Israel’s export volume to Egypt has dropped 33 percent in the first half of the year after relations between the two sides strained following the collapse of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak.

Israeli exporters to Egypt fear a further weakening of trade between the two sides after Egyptians gathered in front the Israeli embassy in Cairo to demand the cut of ties with Tel Aviv, Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Sunday.

The head of the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute, Avi Hefetz, said Egypt was Israel’s 36th largest export market in 2010 while it had tumbled to 47th in the first half of 2011.

“Yet the importance of trade with Egypt is measured in different ways. From a microeconomic perspective, Egypt is an important market for some individual Israeli companies,” he said.

“Of the 151 companies exporting to Egypt, 23 exported more than USD 1 million in 2010,” he added.

Israeli exports to Egypt totaled USD 503 million in 2010, but the figure was only USD 173 million in the first half of 2011, according to the export institute data.