India becomes Israel's second largest export destination

India has become Israel's second largest export destination after the United States, as the Jewish state focusses on tapping potential in the Asian markets.

As per the figures provided by Israel's Export and International Cooperation Institute, India jumped from the eighth position to second as the favoured destination for Israeli exports in the first half of 2010.

Israeli exports to India in the first half of this year equalled $990 million, an increase of 102 per cent compared to last year.

The reason for this sharp jump was a 63 per cent leap in exports by Israel's mining, minerals and quarrying sector, which exported $228 million worth of products, mainly fertilisers, to the subcontinent.

One of the biggest exporters to India in this sector was Dead Sea Works, a subsidiary of Israel Chemicals. Electronics equipment, including warfare systems, exports to India grew from less than $10 million in the first half of last year to $160 million this year, the institute reported.

Major exporters in this sector included ECI Telecom and Comverse, TowerJazz, Elbit Systems and Rafael. Israeli exports to India of metals and metal products also increased from $21 million to $130 million, a sharp increase of 524 per cent.

"India and Israel have registered a phenomenal growth in bilateral trade, starting from humble figures of $200 million in 1992 when diplomatic relations were established between the two countries, with current trends projecting a close to $5 billion mark this year a real possibility", said Sujit Ghosh, First Secretary (Political and Information) at the Indian embassy in Tel Aviv.

Strengthening cooperation in the field of agriculture, India would also be opening several centres of excellence to replicate Israeli model of success in the field.

The Haryana horticulture department recently started organising demonstrations for farmers at the hi-tech Indo-Israel Centre for Excellence in Vegetables at Gharaunda near Karnal here.

Concerns in Israel regarding loss of jobs to India with the signing of FTA were recently dismissed by Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz as 'untrue', in a call to forge stronger economic ties with New Delhi.

"Israel usually exports added value and not end products. We aim to achieve economic cooperation with India that is typical of our relations with the US. These relations make the ground fertile for exporting added value, such as chips, which are integrated into end products," the Israeli finance minister recently told business daily Globes.