New data, which excludes pharmaceutical companies and other big manufacturers, shows a struggling high-tech industry • Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute says weak dollar rates, low trade volumes and lack of demand among culprits. Israel's high-tech companies have seen their exports decline by about 8 percent during the first two quarters of 2013, a new report shows.

According to the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute, overall export activity in the high-tech industry totaled $3.7 billion in that period -- the worst since 2011. While the industry has seen its exports level drop over the past several years, the drop in 2013 was more than double the rate for 2012, coming to 3.3%.

These figures do not pertain to pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers of electronic components, the diamond industry and the aerospace sector.

"The core of the high-tech industry has experienced a troubling drop in export activity. What is particularly worrisome is the fact that this has affected most companies in that sector," Remez Gabai, head of the Export Institute said in a press release on Monday. "What we have here is a continued drop in the export potential of the Israeli high-tech industry because of an ongoing decline in demand, less global trade and the depreciation of the dollar."

"It is doubly important to help exporters so that they can weather this period and remain the economy's growth engine," he said.

But not all is grim: Gabai noted that chemicals exports were up 15% in the first half of 2013, amounting to $5.6 billion. Pharmaceutical exports added 6% compared to the same period in 2012, amounting to $3.25 billion, electronics exports rose by 29%, coming to $2.3 billion and the aerospace industries also had a favorable first six months in 2013 with exports adding 20% and amounting to over $1 billion.