Israeli imports from China rise 28.3 pct from Jan. to Sept.

JERUSALEM, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Israeli imports of goods from China, excluding diamonds, rose by 28.2 percent year on year to 9.83 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months of 2022, the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

In the third quarter alone, Israeli imports from China amounted to 3.34 billion dollars, an increase of 14.8 percent from 2.91 billion dollars in the same period last year, the bureau said in a press release.

China thus remains Israel's largest source of imports, accounting for 12.7 percent of its total imports, followed by the United States, from which Israel imported 6.6 billion dollars' worth of goods in the first nine months, accounting for 8.6 percent of all Israeli imports.

"The expansion of imports from China has a positive effect in curbing the cost of living in Israel," Uriel Lynn, president of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, told Xinhua.

"Israel must strive to reach a free trade agreement with China," he said. "Such a move will increase import competition and have a great impact on reducing the prices of the imported products."

The first nine months also saw a 6.25-percent rise in Israeli exports to China, excluding diamonds, to 3.4 billion dollars from 3.2 billion dollars a year ago.

Total Israeli imports, excluding diamonds, amounted to 77.1 billion dollars from January to September, showing an increase of 24.3 percent, while Israeli exports grew by 25.6 percent to 45.9 billion dollars.