TWO-WAY commerce between the Philippines and Israel reached its peak in 2022, with a total of $534 million worth of goods.
An evidence of their tightening relations is the increasing volume of bilateral trade, which according to the Embassy of Israel reached notable numbers, driven by the rebounding of both countries’ postpandemic economies last year.
“2022 was indeed a track record year of [our] bilateral trade relations with a remarkable 70 percent year-over-year growth rate, but the potential is much higher and yet to be fulfilled,” Economic Counselor and Israeli Economic Mission to the Philippines head Tomer Heyvi mentioned.
“[Recently we saw] a growing demand in the Philippines for Israeli products and technologies in various sectors such as agriculture, water, homeland security, cyber security, [information and communications technology] and connectivity, medical devices and health care, among others,” Tomer added. “As a consequence, the Foreign Trade Administration within the Ministry of Economy and Industry of Israel decided to establish an Economic Mission in the Philippines to further boost the commercial ties between Israeli and Filipino companies.”
The economic counselor furthered that “at the same time there is also a growing demand in Israel for products and services from the Philippines such as electronics, agriculture produce, among other products, as well as [business process outsourcing (BPO)] services. This is represented in the consecutive growth of our imports from the Philippines in both 2021 and 2022.”
According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, export of goods to the Philippines in 2022 grew by 94 percent the previous year, and reached $340-million worth of goods.
Machinery and electronic items were the top-exported category with a 54-percent share valued at $183 million. These included semiconductors, telephone sets, electronic integrated circuits, automatic vending machines, valves and data-processing equipment.
The next category was transportation equipment with a 30-percent share, mainly including aerospace and maritime units for the Philippine defense industry.
Base metals accounted for 9 percent of the total Israeli exports, while optical equipment, mainly referring to optical fiber, medical appliances and various industrial tools, made up 5.6 percent.
Chemical products, mostly referring to fertilizers, organic chemicals, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, accounted for 2.6 percent; while rubber and plastics, at 2.2 percent, mainly refers to industrial agriculture products.
Finally, agriculture products and foodstuff as fruit juice, sauces, sugar and edible vegetables accounted for only about 1.6 percent.
Imports up
MEANWHILE, Israeli imports from the Philippines in 2022 grew by 39 percent compared to last year, which reached $193 million worth of goods. Top category was machinery and electronic equipment, which comprised 83 percent of the total imports, including electronic integrated circuits, printing machinery, engine and motors, telephone sets, vacuum cleaners and water heaters.
Next were agriculture products and foodstuff with a 6.1-percent share, mainly including edible fruits and nuts (primarily coconut), fruit juice, baked goods, tapioca and fish products.
Textile and footwear accounted for 5.3 percent, mainly footwear, bags, clothing and clothing accessories; while optical and medical accounted for 3.7 percent mainly referring to gas and water meters, optical fibers, measuring instruments, plus medical instruments and appliances.
The trade statistics above are limited to trade in goods, and do not include trade in business services such as cyber security services and enterprise solutions exported from Israel versus BPO services imported from the Philippines. Therefore, estimated bilateral trade of the latter and Israel in both goods and services is expected to be north of $534 million.
Growing bilateral-trade ties of the two countries are also reflected in their closer economic dialogue, according to the embassy. In June 2022 a number of key agreements and memoranda of understanding (MOU) were signed during the visit of former trade secretary Ramon Lopez to Israel. Among them was the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, expected to enter into force this year.
Another is the MOU of the Department of Trade and Industry with the Israel Ministry of Economy and Industry on Economic Cooperation, as well as the establishment of a Joint Economic Commission. The first is expected to take place this year, and further promote their bilateral trade relations.
2023 will mark the 65th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations of the State of Israel and the Republic of the Philippines, which was established back in 1958. Since then both countries have managed to develop and maintain strong and friendly relations, relying on extensive cooperation in the areas of agriculture, defense, labor, tourism, technology, innovation, as well as in trade and investments.
