January 2005: importation of consumer and investment products same as January 2004

During January, an increase was seen in most of the durable goods, compared to January of last year, however it should be noted that the accumulated contribution of electric appliances and electronics to the State's revenue is not high. The total revenue for electrical appliances and electronics in 2004 was approximately 5% of revenue from Purchase Tax.
 
A sharp decrease was seen in importation of vehicles, in January 2005, approximately 8700 vehicles were imported compared to approximately 13, 000 vehicles in January 2004, a decrease of approximately 28%, these are the lowest numbers of vehicles imported in the past six months. The main reasons for this decrease are the release of many vehicles by vehicle importers in Decembers due to the fear of the EURO's strengthening compared to the Shekel, and the fact that high sales are customary in December in order to improve annual sales figures. No conclusion can be reached from one month as to a change in the trends towards an increase in vehicles sales as noted during the last quarter of 2004.
 
Importation of cigarettes increased in January 2005 by 20% compared to last year. Importation of other durable goods also increased in January 2005 compared to the same month last year. A 50% increase was noted for refrigerators, and 34% increase was noted for television, 57% increase in washing machines was seen, and a 130% increase in the importation of DVDs.

The value of importation for January 2005 totaled 2.2. billion dollars, similar to January 2004.