According to the Lebanese Ministry of Industry, the total value of industrial exports during the first nine months of the year 2018 rose by 3.33% year-on-year (y-o-y) from $ 1.82B by September 2017 to stand at
$1.88B by September 2018. Similarly, on a monthly basis, September 2018 witnessed a 23.0% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in the value of total industrial exports to stand at $206.2M.
In terms of imports, the total value of imports of industrial machinery and equipment during the first nine months of the year 2018 amounted to $210.3M, recording a year-on-year (y-o-y) increase of 8.35 % during the same period in 2017.
In September 2018, the main exported products were “products of the chemical industries” with a total value of $50.92M down from $34.76M in September 2017. The main export market for this product was Bangladesh which accounted for 34.77% of the total, equivalent to $17.69M; followed by Turkey and Spain with $5.54M and $4.96M respectively.
Exports of machinery and electrical equipment came in second position, totaling $34.95M, down from $25.62M in September 2017, noting that Iraq was the largest importer for this category, with an import value of $4.88M, followed by UAE and Egypt with values of $4,33M and $3,85M respectively.
Base metals and articles of base metal, grasped the 3rd place this year recording an annual increase of 12.9% with a total value of $27.46M. Republic of Korea and Turkey were the main importers with a total value of $4.82M and $4.01M respectively.
Exports of “prepared foodstuffs and tobacco” took the 4th place, despite the drop in their export value by 10.6% to reach $24.93M comparing to the same period last year; they were mainly exported to Saudi Arabia and Iraq with a total value of $3,57M and $2,35M respectively.
In a regional breakdown, the primary importers of Lebanese industrial products in September 2018 were the Arab Countries, the Non-Arab Asian countries and European Countries with each grasping a stake of 51.98%, 19.03%, and 12.76% of total exports respectively. In details, United Arab Emirates topped the export market with $25.02M; Syria came second with a total value of $19.17M followed by Bangladesh with $17.74M.
Main Industrial Exports in September 2017 and 2018 ($ M)
Source : Ministry of Industry