According to the Lebanese Ministry of Industry (MoI), the value of total industrial exports grew by a yearly 5.4% to reach $1.14BM in the first five months of 2019. Meanwhile, the value of total industrial imports slumped by 30.3% year-on-year (YOY) to $88.7M.
On a monthly basis, the value of total industrial exports in May 2019 totaled $267.28M thereby adding a yearly 20%. In details, the value of “Products of the chemical industries” (24.3% of total industrial exports) recorded a growth rate of 49.5% in May 2019 to $64.9M, of which France imported 22.2%. In their turn, exports of “Machinery and electrical equipment” ranked second (18.4% of total exports) totaling $49.3M by May 2019, compared to $37.6M by May 2018 with Iraq importing 20% of total machinery and electric equipment. Industrial exports of “Prepared foodstuffs and tobacco” ranked third largest over the period, rising by a yearly 1.2% to $39.3M, of which 19% were imported by Saudi Arabia.
In turn, “Base metals and articles of base metal” (12.8% of total exports) increased from $33.2M in May 2018 to $34.1M in May 2019, with top importer Greece (grasping 16.7% of the components’ exports).
Moreover, the MoI data revealed a substantial downtick in the value of “Plastics and rubber and articles thereof” (6% of total exports). These fell from $17.8M in May 2018 to $16.1M in May 2019 as a result of a decline in imports by Syria and Saudi Arabia.
Overall, the primary export markets for Lebanon’s industrial products were the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq which grasped the respective shares of 10.1%, 8.3% and 7.9% of total exports.
As for imports of Machinery and Industrial Equipment, they fell by a yearly 30.3% to $88.7M by May 2019. The imports of “Machinery for the food industry” ranked first over the period, with a value of $3.4M, of which $1.1M were imported from the USA. “Machines used in packaging” followed, totaling $2.8M, of which $2M were imported from Italy.
Main Industrial Exports in May 2018 and 2019 (in $M)
Source: MoI