According to data from the Lebanese customs, Lebanon’s trade deficit reached $3.99B in the first quarter of 2016 (Q1 2016), up by 16% from the $3.43B registered in Q1 2015. Exports dropped by an annual 15% to $634.29M while imports grew by an annual 11% to $4.62B.
Pearls, precious stones and metals accounted for 17.23% of exports, followed closely by 17.16% for prepared foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco and by 14.44% for machinery and electrical instruments.
The value of exports in all of the top classified categories witnessed yearly declines:
As for imports, the largest value is accounted for by mineral products with 25.91% followed by shares of 10.93% for products of the chemical or allied industries and 9.01% for machinery and electrical instruments.
The top import destinations for the first three months of the year were China, the US, Holland, Italy and Germany with respective shares of 11.3%, 8.2%, 7.5%, 7.46% and 5.2%.
The top export destinations for Q1 2016 were South Africa, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Syria and Iraq with respective shares of 11.7%, 11.58%, 9.44%, 6.81% and 5.94%.
Lebanon’s Trade Deficit by March (In Billions of USD)
Source: Lebanese Customs