According to the Lebanese Ministry of Industry, the value of total industrial exports fell by 3.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) to stand at $1.65B by August 2017.
Similarly, on a monthly basis, Aug. 2017 witnessed a 2.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) contraction in the value of total industrial exports that stood at $227M. As such, the main exported products during the month included Machinery and electrical equipment, which fell by 2.6% y-o-y to stand at $44.4M. Products of the chemical industries followed, declining by an annual 21.2% to reach $43.3M. In their turn, Prepared foodstuffs and tobacco exports recorded a yearly drop of 2.7% to stand at $35.9M.
In details, Machinery and electrical equipment constituted 19.55% of total industrial exports, of which $6.5M were exported to Iraq. Products of the chemical industries grasped 19.07% of total exports, with $19.5M exported to Bangladesh. Lastly, Prepared foodstuffs and tobacco constituted 15.81% of total exports, of which $6.1M were mainly exported to Syria.
In their turn, the top gainers among the exported products in August 2017 were: Base metals and articles of base metals (constituting 15.06% of total industrial exports) and Plastics and rubber and articles thereof (7.66% of the total), each of which rose by 60.7% and 28.5% y-o-y to $34.2M and $17.4M, respectively. Among the top losers, Pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals and articles thereof slumped by an annual 41.7% to stand at $8.9M over the same period.
Interestingly, Lebanon’s largest export market for industrial products in August 2017 was Syria, which imported a share of 9.95% of the total export value, followed by Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia which grasped the respective stakes of 8.61% and 8.56% of total industrial exports.
As for imports of Machinery and Industrial Equipment, they rose by an annual 42.1% to stand at $27M in Aug. 2017. The imports of Machinery for food industries were the highest, amounting to $5.9M, of which $2.8M with China being the lead exporter of the product to Lebanon. Machines for rubber and plastics industry followed, totaling $1.4M, of which $0.9M were imported also from China.
Main Industrial Exports in August 2017 compared to Aug. 2016
Source: Ministry of Industry