Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben- Eliezer on Tuesday urged local
businesses and supermarket chains not to boycott Turkish products.
“Trade
needs to be completely separated from diplomatic issues,” he said. “We cannot
accept the usage of boycotts as a means of political pressure. We are against
global boycotts in general and against Turkey in particular.
“We
disapprove of any calls or announcements heard in recent days to boycott
Turkish
products in Israel. Such announcements will only make the situation with
Turkey
worse and hurt many Israeli companies that are still doing business with
Turkey
despite the diplomatic crisis.”
Ben-Eliezer said the strengthening of
business and trade relations with Turkey, which have grown in recent
years,
would help bring relations back to normal.
Industry, Trade and Labor
Ministry director-general Sharon Kedmi on Tuesday asked large supermarket
chains
to act responsibly to prevent the situation from deteriorating.
“There is
no doubt that recent events have led to strong feelings among citizens,”
he
said. “But we should anticipate the repercussions of such acts, which
could
translate into severe damage to the economy and Israeli citizens.”
Some
local supermarket chains this week announced they would boycott products
manufactured in Turkey and stop working with Turkish suppliers. One of
the firms
is Blue Square, which operates the Mega, Mega in the City and Mega Bul
supermarket stores and imports flour and pasta from Turkey for its
private
label. Blue Square’s relationship with Turkish companies began to be
problematic
about a month ago and recently was broken off, the company
said.
Supermarket chain Rami Levy also broke off ties with Turkish
suppliers for reasons of ideology and conscience. Rami Levy imports
pasta, paper
plates and ketchup from Turkey for its private label.
Last week, Israeli
unions called for a boycott of all Turkish goods, in response to
Turkey’s
involvement in the Gaza-bound flotilla that was stopped by Israeli
commandos.
Union leaders announced they would not buy Turkish-made goods as gifts
for
workers – expenditures that totaled NIS 2 billion last year.
Federation
of Israeli Chambers of Commerce president Uriel Lynn warned Monday that
it would
be a serious mistake to boycott products from Turkey. He urged the
business
sector to act responsibly and not let political tensions damage economic
relations.
“There are many Israeli businesses that have strong trade and
business ties with Turkey and are interested in the maintenance of
intact
relations,” Lynn said. “The basis of good relations between countries
and people
are trade and business. Until now, this basis between Israel and Turkey
has
proven itself, and it would be a mistake to shake it up.”
In the first
four months of the year, trade volume between Israel and Turkey rose 27
percent
to $1b., compared with $793 million during the same period in 2009, the
FICC
said. During the same period, exports to Turkey rose 16% to $410m., from
$353m.,
while imports from Turkey increased 36% to $600m., from $440m.
In 2009,
trade volume between Israel and Turkey declined 28% to $2.5b., from
$3.4b. in
2008.
Exports to Turkey fell 33% to $1.1b., from $1.6b. in 2008. The FICC
blamed the global financial crisis for the decline in trade between the
two
countries rather than diplomatic or political tensions.