ANKARA: Turkey recorded a 1,361 percent increase in the export of human and animal blood, vaccines and serums to Israel in 2014 over the preceding three years, according to government data.
Turkish exports of these products amounted to only $349,000 in 2012, while the volume grew to $3.4 million in 2014 and $5.1 million in 2014, according to figures from the Ministry of Economy. Data for 2015 have yet to be published.
Turkey and Israel have been at odds since then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stormed out of a panel discussion after criticizing Israeli President Shimon Peres in 2009 at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. Tension between the two further escalated in 2010 when the Mavi Marmara, part of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, was boarded by Israeli marines who wound up killing eight Turkish civilians and one Turkish-American.
Despite harsh rhetoric, however, trade relations have not seen a corresponding decline, as Turkish exports to Israel rose from $1.5 billion in 2009 to $2.9 billion in 2014. The volume of imports also increased to $2.7 billion from $1.1 billion over the same period.
Exports to Israel declined to $2.68 billion year-on-year in 2015, during which Turkey’s total exports also suffered an 8.5 percent fall. Among Turkey’s export products to Israel are plastics, minerals, textiles, concrete and ceramics, while Israel mostly sells chemical and rubber products and electrical equipment to Turkey.
