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Israeli exports to Ireland increased by 517% in 2021

Ireland has one of the least friendly policies toward Israel and many of its politicians have promoted a boycott on Israeli goods.

By Aryeh Savir/TPS

Israeli exports increased to about $140 billion in 2021 and hit a record high, an increase of close to 20% compared to about $114.3 billion in 2020, according to estimates by the Foreign Trade Administration at the Ministry of Economy and Industry.

For the first time in Israel’s economic history, exports of services exceed exports of goods with a 51% to 49% ratio, while the exports of goods are also on the rise.

The leading sectors in the export of goods are automation and electronic equipment, products of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and optical and medical equipment.

One of the most surprising countries of destination that experienced an impressive growth was Ireland, with a whopping 517% increase, as the total sum in exports went from $140,801,000 in the first nine months of 2020 to $869,257,000 in the first nine months of 2021.

Ireland has one of the least friendly policies toward Israel and many of its politicians have promoted a boycott on Israeli goods.

Data obtained by TPS from the Foreign Trade Administration shows that the main increase occurred in the mechanization and electronics sector, with $59,248,000 in trade in the first nine months of 2020, to $732,719,000 in the first nine months of 2021, 12 times the sales in the previous year.

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Another sector that showed an impressive growth is “transportation products,” with $58,170,000 in the first nine months of 2020, to $111,201,000 in the first nine months of 2021.

Other export categories of Israeli goods to Ireland that showed a more modest increase were agriculture and food products, base metals, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and the chemical industry, medical and optical equipment, and rubber and plastic products.

Irish-Israeli relations have been strained in recent years following the suggestion that Dublin would ban the import of products from Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, labeling them as “settlement products.” The Irish parliament passed such a bill in January 2019, celebrated as a win for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), but was subsequently blocked by the government.