Israel Manufacturers Association has painted a gloomy scenario for the Israeli economy, suggesting that a recession is in the offing — even for the high tech sector, which has been the engine of the country’s economic growth over the past 18 months.
According to the Manufacturers Association, the final quarter of 2000 was the worst recorded in 21 years. The association based its finding on a survey of 190 industrial enterprises, conducted during the second half of December 2000.
According to Shuki Abramovitz, the head of the association’s economic division, the Palestinian uprising was largely responsible for a fall in industrial output. Some 53 percent of the companies surveyed reported that they reduced production, although 22 percent reported an increase.
Abramovitz said that the decline in results reported by the respondents was even more pronounced than in 1989, which was a recession year. Some 60 percent of the respondents reported a fall in sales in the fourth quarter. In the 1989 survey, the corresponding figure was 58 percent.
The decline in activity even reached the powerful electronics sector, where, although 53 percent of companies reported higher exports, 20 percent said they were down. The electronics sector however was generally optimistic about its prospects in the new year, as were the food and chemical sectors. ¯ (Albawaba-MEBG)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
