Lebanon’s trade deficit for the first month of 2018 stood at $1.42B, widening from the $1.37B registered in the same month last year. Total imports grew by 6.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) to $1.71B and exports rose by 23.3% y-o-y to $283.41M.
The top imported goods to Lebanon were Mineral products with a share of 16.21%, followed by 14.23% for machinery and electrical instruments and 11.36% for products of the chemical and allied industries.
The value of imported mineral products dropped by 23.73% y-o-y to $276.34M as a result of the 36.95% drop in their imported volume in January 2018. Meanwhile, the value of machinery and electrical instruments surged to $242.55M and that of the chemical and allied industries rose by 10.41% to $193.67M.
In January, the top three import destinations were China, Italy, and Greece with shares of 14%, 9% and 8%, respectively.
As for exports, the top exported products from Lebanon were pearls precious stones and metals with a share of 39.05% of the total followed by shares of 13.57% for base metals and articles of base metal and 9.70% for products of the chemical or allied industries
In details, the value of Pearls, precious stones and metals more surged in January 2018 to stand at $110.67M, compared to $71.61M in January 2017. The value of base metals and articles of base metal rose by 47.81% to $38.45M, and the value of products of the chemical or allied industries registered a yearly increase of 42% to $27.50M.
In January, the top three export destinations were Switzerland with 17%, South Africa with 16%, followed by the UAE with a share of 9%.
Trade Deficit in January ($B)
Source: Lebanese Customs