Customs activity was negative over the first eight months of 2015 recording yearly drops of 16.09% and 4.70% in terms of value and volume of transported goods. However, the steep decline in the value of goods could be explained by the ongoing deterioration of oil prices and the depreciation of the euro.
The breakdown of transported goods revealed that maritime shipment was the main route for Lebanon’s trade activity. Port of Beirut (PoB) is still transmitting the highest part of goods as it took a share of 67.62% and was followed by the Port of Tripoli (21.07%) and the Port of Saida (8.59%).
Six out of nine custom offices revealed higher volumes of transported goods by August, 2015 compared to the same period in 2014 despite the decline of overall goods from 10.48M tons by August 2014 to 9.99M tons.
However, PoB saw 10.34% yearly fall in goods’ volume to reach 6.75M tons worth $8.37B partly due the labor strikes and the slow domestic demand. Custom office of Masnaa, which used to be one of Lebanon’s busiest custom offices, saw the tonnage of trafficked goods slashing in half by August 2015 with a 55.55% y-o-y slump to 76,516 tons. This is most probably due to the ongoing conflict in Syria and due to Syrian rebels taking control of the Jordanian Nasib border crossing (between Syria and Jordan) in Q1, as Masnaa is the main route to Jpradan and GCC countries.
In contrast, tonnage of transported goods improved in each of the ports of Saida and Tripoli by respective 50.12% and 47.48% to 858,118 tons and 2.10M tons. The relatively improving security situation in Tripoli might have boosted trading activity at the city’s’ port. As for Saida’s Port, it revealed the largest yearly upturn especially when, in the month of April alone, 279,862 tons were brought into Lebanon through Saida’s port, with electrical transformers constituting the bulk of those imports. Similarly, custom offices of Arida and Tyre saw annual rises of 64.37% and 47.48% in imports’ volume to 76,672 tons and 3,246 tons, respectively. The former’s ascent was largely due to Arida being a safe passage to the North of Syria
Separately, the imported volume through the Rafik Hariri International Airport (RHIA) remained relatively stagnant at the 40,000 tons by August 2015.
Imports Tonnage Relating to Lebanon’s Main Custom Offices 
Source: Customs