The Import And Export Operations Of This Port Have Been Completely Disrupted! The Economic Losses Were Enormous!

Israel's port trade has suffered huge losses as a result of the conflict. According to the local media, direct economic losses have amounted to $3 billion. In particular, the import and export operations of the port of Eilat, the only port in southern Israel directly connected to the Red Sea, have been completely disrupted as a result.

Eilat port is not only the only outlet to the Red Sea in southern Israel but also the country's access to the Asia-Pacific region, making it one of the most critical trade ports. With Yemen's Houthis firing long-range missiles at Eilat in solidarity with the Palestinian Gaza Strip, the local port's business has been gradually affected, and after the Houthis claimed to have launched an attack on Israeli ships, the port's operation has come to a complete standstill.

The main business of Eilat Port is to import cars and export potash to the Asia-Pacific region. According to Eilat Port, nearly half of Israel's annual automobile imports in recent years have been completed through Eilat Port.

General Correspondent Zhao Bing: I am now at the Israeli port of Eilat, and behind me there are a lot of imported vehicles. Vehicle imports account for more than 75% of all profits at Eilat Port, which had about 50,000 new vehicles before the escalation of the situation in the Red Sea, but after that, due to the disruption of shipping, there were no more new vehicles imported. It is understood that the vehicles behind me will all be sold within the next two months, which means that if the situation in the Red Sea remains tense by that time, the port of Eilat will have lost the vast majority of its profits and will be in further difficulty.

The disruption of cargo transportation as a result of the escalation of the situation in the Red Sea has taken a huge economic toll on the port of Eilat. In addition to a sharp drop in revenue, the direct losses incurred in maintaining the port's basic operations amounted to $3 million per month. Gideon, the CEO of Eilat Port, said that the current situation of the port can only last until February this year, and if the Israeli government still has no way to solve the related difficulties after that, they will have to consider layoffs and closing part of the business.

In fact, in Israel's top two ports, Haifa and Ashdod, at least 30% of the imported goods need to go through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to Israel. According to the Israel Ports Authority, in the fourth quarter of 2023, the number of cars imported into the port of Ashdod plummeted by 94%, and the scope of transshipment at all Israeli seaports plummeted by 70%, due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the situation on the Red Sea.