GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Palestine Trade Center (PalTrade) announced at a Sept. 5 press conference, held in al-Bireh, the opening of registration for the Palestine Exporter Award 2016 for six categories that include industry, agriculture, services, tourism, female investors and promising or new firms. The award aims to showcase Palestinian economic capabilities, encourage competition in the production and services sectors, boost Palestinian annual exports, promote an export culture and support access to new markets in order to achieve inclusive economic and sustainable social developments in Palestine, both in the West Bank and Gaza.

The award is also part of the National Export Strategy adopted by the Palestinian government in collaboration with PalTrade in early 2015 to increase exports by 67%, with an average annual growth of 13%, within the next five years.

According to statistics by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the total registered exports of goods in the West Bank reached $953.8 million in 2015, a 1.7% increase from 2014, while the Gaza Strip registered a decrease of 37.5% compared with 2014, with an estimated total of $4 million in registered exports of goods.

Shadi Chahine, PalTrade’s Trade Policy Department director, told Al-Monitor that the main challenges of exporting include customs constraints, security checks, foreign market policies, the product’s ability to meet the world technical standards and Israeli restrictions on border crossings, along with the strict procedures imposed on exporters that aim at impeding the Palestinian economy and keeping it dependent on the Israeli one.