The Manufacturers Association of Israel (MAI) published last week a survey of export expectations carried out among 150 companies. The survey according to the MAI found a steady decline in the profitability of Israeli exports.
According to the survey, 52% of respondents reported lower profit margins on exports in the second quarter of 2013, compared with 6% of respondents who reported higher margins.
According to the survey, 35% of manufacturers reported export slow down in the second quarter of 2013, compared with 27% who reported higher exports.
Manufacturers Association economic research department director Dafna Aviram-Nitzan noted that "The steady drop in industrial exports, which until recently was the engine for economic growth, should worry all of us".
She called on the Bank of Israel to increase its intervention in the foreign currency market and to expand interest rate cuts in view of the strengthening of the shekel against the dollar.
