IMA: Israel industrial exports in 2009 expected to slide 10%

According to estimations industrial exports will post a 2.5percent decline in 2010 as global trade starts to rebound
 
Israel's Manufacturers' Association (IMA) said last Sunday that in 2009 Israel's industrial exports are expected to slide 10% to $35 billion as a result of slower global trade. Israeli industrial exports grew 4% in 2008, while global trade of goods rose some 7.5%
 
The Manufacturers' Association said its forecast would be even worse were it not for the start of exports from Intel Corp's new chip plant in Kiryat Gat, which is expected to add $1.5 billion to $2 billion to Israel's industrial exports in 2009.
 
The association estimated industrial exports will post a 2.5percent decline in 2010 as global trade starts to rebound. Exports, particularly high-tech and other industrial exports, account for nearly half of what Israel produces.
 
The forecast comes after The Economist magazine projected a 3.5% decline in global trade this year, it said in a statement.