According to the Ministry of Industry, the value of Lebanese industrial exports amounted to $3.15B in 2014, down from 2013’s $3.38B and 2012’s $3.57B. On the other hand, the value of imports of machinery and industrial equipment reached around $269.1M as compared to $300.4M in 2014 and $288.1M in 2012.
During the month of December 2014 alone, industrial exports totaled $260.1M up from $242.1M in December 2013 and $292.2M in December 2012.
The main exported products in December were “Machinery and mechanical appliances” with a total value of $57M, the bulk of which were destined for the Saudi Arabian market which imported $6.1M worth of Lebanese machinery and electrical appliances.
The second top exported products in December were “Prepared foodstuffs” with a value of $50.1M. The main destination market was also Saudi Arabia which imported $7.2M worth of “prepared foodstuffs”. The third top exported products in December were “Products of the chemical industries” whose value totaled $40.7M. The top market destination for this product was Turkey who imported $9.3M worth of products of the chemical industries.
In December alone, the imports of machinery and industrial equipment totaled $20.7M, slightly up from $20.3M in December 2013. The top provider of machinery and industrial equipment to Lebanon was China with an import value of $3.6M, followed by $3.5M for Italy and $2.6M for Germany.
In December, the imports of machinery designed for the prepared foodstuffs industry represented the highest value in the total with $4.7M, mainly originating from Italy. Imports of machinery for the mineral products industry represented the second highest value in the total with $1.3M, the bulk of which were imported from Germany.
