JERUSALEM, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Israeli exports to China broke a new record in the first half of 2018 and reached 2.8 billion U.S. dollars, up 73 percent year on year, said data by the Israeli Governmental Export Institute on Monday.

Israel's total exports, excluding diamonds, rose by 4 percent in January-June to 24.2 billion U.S. dollars, according to the data.

The United States and the European Union countries are still the largest and most significant markets for Israeli exports, accounting for 55 percent of the total exports.

In addition, Israeli exports to Latin America grew by 13.8 percent.

Israeli agricultural exports fell by 6 percent during the period, to 720 million U.S. dollars, and diamond exports fell by 4 percent, to 3.8 billion U.S. dollars.