Ashdod

The Israel Export and International Co-operation Institute (IEI) has reported that exports to the EU from Israel fell by some 16 per cent for the first quarter of 2012 compared to the previous month.

Volumes to the EU, which accounts for 33 per cent of Israel's overall exports, fell to US$3.6bn, with exports dropping by 15 per cent to Germany, by 12 per cent to Italy, by 4 per cent to Belgium and by 7 per cent to Cyprus.

Exports to Asia fell by 6 per cent from the previous quarter, but rose by 7 per cent from the same period last year.

Although exports to the US increased by 3 per cent from the previous quarter, they dropped by some 20 per cent compared with the year-earlier period.