JERUSALEM, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- China kept its position as Israel's largest source of commodity imports for the fifth consecutive year in 2024, according to data issued by Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.
Israeli imports from China reached a record high of 13.53 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, a 19.8-percent increase from the 11.29 billion dollars in 2023.
In December, Israeli imports from China nearly doubled year-on-year, reaching 2 billion dollars, up from 1.12 billion dollars in December 2023.
The United States is Israel's second-largest source of imports, supplying commodities worth 9.22 billion dollars in 2024. Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands followed in the rankings.
Israeli imports from the United Arab Emirates, which normalized relations with Israel in 2020, totalled 2.75 billion dollars in 2024.
On the other hand, Israeli imports from Türkiye dropped by about 56 percent year-on-year in 2024, primarily due to mutual trade restrictions imposed amid escalating tensions between the two countries over the Israel-Hamas conflict.
For the same reason, Israeli exports to Türkiye are expected to drop by 61 percent in 2024.
The United States remains the largest recipient of Israeli exports, totaling 17.2 billion dollars. Ireland follows with 3.23 billion dollars, and China ranks third with 2.81 billion dollars. The Netherlands, Germany, and India followed in the rankings.
