UK-Israel trade up by a third as UK imports £845m of Israeli pharmaceuticals

The British Government’s latest figures on bilateral trade and investment between the UK and Israel shows a whopping 33 percent increase in business between the two countries in recent months.

A factsheet published by the Department for International Trade and Investment reveals how the UK’s exports to Israel is now roughly equal to its imports from Israel, the latter increasing by almost 60 percent to £3.1 billion.

Total trade in goods and services between the UK and Israel was £6.1 billion for the four quarters to the end of June 2022, an increase of 33.1 percent or £1.5 billion from the same period last year.

UK exports to Israel totalled £3 billion, an increase of 13.7 percent or £356 million. While the UK export of goods to Israel did not increase on last year, UK exports of services to Israel leapt by 40 percent or £355 million.

Meanwhile, total UK imports from Israel in the 12 months to August 2022 jumped by a huge 89.7 percent. The vast majority of this was medicinal and pharmaceutical products totalling £845 million, in part due to the pandemic.

Alongside drugs and medicines, the UK imported £105 million in Israeli fruit and vegetables, £132 million in power generators, £271 million in mineral manufactures, and £72 million in scientific instruments.

In terms of the sale of services, the UK imported £273 million in financial services, with another £136 million relating to pensions and insurances, while Israeli services sold to the UK include categories such as transport (£71m), travel (£103m), telecoms and IT (£144m), and government services (£45m).

Taken together, the figures mean that Israel is now the UK’s 39th largest trading partner, accounting for 0.4 percent of total UK trade.

Based on figures published before the pandemic, based on 2018 statistics, Israeli exports to the UK supported around 33,000 Israeli jobs, while UK exports to Israel supported around 39,000 UK jobs.