T HE DETR OIT JEWISH NEWS — Friday, July 4, 1958-8
Israel's Economy Improving Steadily, UN Report
Indicates, But Jewish State Still Needs Foreign Aid
UNITED NATIONS (JTA) —
Israel's economic achievements
during the past year, as well as
the serious economic problems
which it is still facing, are out-
lined in a report issued here
by the United Nations.
The report emphasizes that
Israel is now producing about
70 per cent of its own food and
an even higher percentage of
certain manufactured goods
needed for internal consump-
tion.. At the same time, the re-
port stresses, Israel's wholesale
price index is rising steadily
and defense expenditures are
climbing.
"At the present stage," the
report declares. "the country
is still far from achieving
an internal financial equilib-
rium. Without further exter-
nal financial aid, it is doubt-
ful whether the progress so
far achieved can even be
maintained, especially in the
face of a continuing — pos-
sibly heavy — influx of immi-
gration."
Israel's total foreign obliga-
tions, states the report, was
$299,600,000 by the end of
March, 1957, as against $89.-
600,000 in foreign currency
balances, with a net outstanding
liability of $210,000,000. - "This."
the report adds, "is -likely to
become a burden on the econ-
omy, and additional difficulties
are to be expected by 1962,
when payments under the Ger-
man Reparations Agreement
will have ended."
The report calls attention to
the fact that, as of Sept. 1, 1957,
almost half of the total of $822,-
000,000 provided for in the
G e r ma n- Israel Reparations
Agreement of 1952 has been
paid out in goods and services.
In general, the report states,
"inflation is one of Israel's
greatest obstacles to achieving
its aims in a reasonable amount
of time." While the statistical
tables in the report show vast
progress in almost every field
of Israel's economic activity. in-
ternal as well as external, it
declares that "the inflationary
process characterizing its econ-
omy makes it increasingly diffi-
cult for Israel to achieve a level
of consumption — private and
public — properly related to the
income produced 'in the coun-
try itself."
The UN report says that
"a feature of Israel's growth
in recent years is that con-
sumption has been exceeding
net output." Israel's "net na-
tional product" in 1956 aggre-
gated 2,337,000,000 Israeli
pounds, but its total consump-
tion exceeded that figure by
202,000,000 pounds.
Most of that discrepancy was
due to what the report calls
"public consumption," which
almost doubled in 1956 over the
1953 level, while private con-
sumption in that period rose
only by 34 per cent.
General wholesale prices rose
last year to an index figure of
151, based on 1953 costs, while
the cost of living index rose to
137. During the period from
1953 to September, 1957, the
number of unemployed in Israel
decreased from 17,680 to 8,920,
in spite of the fact that the total
population had risen consider-
ably.
"Government expend i t u r e,"
the report declares. "has been
steadily increasing, not only in
absolute figures but also rela-
tive to gross national p r o d-
uct." The figures show that gov-
ernment expenditures w ere
88.37 million Israeli pounds in
1950, and had risen to 662.56
million by 1956, by which time
those expenditures had gone up!
to 26.4 per cent of the gross
national product.
The figures for government
expenditures are even higher.
the report indicates. because
they "do not give a full account
of the defense expenditure."
Furthermore, the report states.
the figures for the central gov-
ernment's expenditures do not
include monies spent by munici-
palities or by the Jewish
Agency "and certain other pub-
lie bodies." -
Private investments have
gone up from 185 million Is-
raeli pounds in 1953 to 265
million in 1956, the report
establishes. It also shows the
the increase in "gross domes-
tic capital formation" in the
country, which includes dwell-
ings, non-residential buildings
and other construction, trans-
port equipment, machinery
and stocks in share corpora-
tions.
This figure almost doubled
in the last four years, increas-
ing from 332.8 million Israeli
pounds to 623.2 million. Manu-
facturing production_ increased
by 143.59 per cent in the four
years while agricultural produc-
tion went up during those years
by 156.48 per cent.
The figures concerning Israel
are part of an overall report,
entitled "Economic Develop-
ments in the Middle East; 1956-
1957," issued by the United
Nations as a supplement to its
world economic survey for 1957.
The inflationary cycle is world-
wide according to the - world
survey.
The report also shows that, in
the entire Middle East region,
Israel ranked first in figures for
per capita consumption. Israel's
figures show the country's in-
habitants having "a total caloric
intake of 2,860 per day," with
Turkey next and Egypt third.
TETLEY TEA IN A GLASS.
t
1
That's the fine old Jewish way to en-
joy tea at its finest..Z`flavor crushed"
Tetley for fullest strength and stimu-
lation ...richer taste and pleasure...
served in a glass or cup!
Certified Kosher
TES L `c .
(.%
Y.
under strict
Rabbinical
Supervision
SINCE 1837
HAVE
YOU
HEARD
THE
LATEST
JEWISH
NEWS
SUBSCRIBE TO
THE JEWISH NEWS
VE 8-9364
17100 W. 7 MILE RD.