The fall out from the Turkish flotilla, originally sent to bolster the Hamas regime in Gaza, continues to reverberate in the commercial world.

There is no doubting it. Until June 2010, bilateral Turkish-Israel trade was continuing to reach new heights – over US$1.5 billion annually. And the defense sector was one of the main beneficiaries.

Today, Israeli and UN led commissions of inquiry fill up the news print. On the ground, 10s of thousands of Israeli tourists have abandoned Antalya and other Turkish resorts in droves – replacing them with the hotspots of Crete, Cyprus and Eilat. Several Israeli supermarket chains have declared that they will order less products from Turkey.

Britex is a small Israeli importer and distributor of textiles. As their Turkish suppliers have raised prices, the company has responded by moving to other sources. According to their CEO, orders are up 30% ever since.

Negev Textile Ltd is located in southern Israel near Sderot, which has seen thousands of missiles land on the town from Gaza in the past decade. The company dyes textiles and has suffered from Turkish price competition in recent years. Suddenly, its all change and the clients have started to storm back.  

When Fatah launched the Intifada in 2000, little consideration was given for how the local population may suffer economically. Much the same can be said for the Turkish government, where its support for the flotilla has been followed by a down turn in parts of its own economy. 

And in the meantime, the tactics of Hamas has resulted in a micro boom for some Israeli manufacturers.