As of March 2021, Lebanon’s trade deficit totaled $2.63B, going from the $2.02B registered in the same period last year. In fact, total imported goods retreated only by 18.9% year-on-year (YOY) to $3.33B; while Lebanon’s total exports significantly retreated by 31.44% YOY to $698.61M in March 2021.
In detail, the “Mineral products” grasped the lion’s share of total imported goods with a stake of 25.63%. “Products of the chemical or allied industries” ranked second, composing 14.77% of the total while “Pearls, precious stones and metals” and “Vegetable Products” grasped the respective shares of 8.26% and 9.04%, respectively.
Compared to March 2020, the value of imported “Mineral products” slumped from $999.84M to $853.25M by March 2021. In fact, the imported volume of mineral products (mostly oil) decreased by 14.66% YOY. This may be attributed to the deterioration of the Lebanese purchasing power, due to the catastrophic depreciation of the national currency against the dollar.
In March, the top four import destinations were Greece, Turkey, China and UAE grasping the respective shares of 12.84%, 7.68%, 6.20% and 5.62% of the total value of imports.
On the Exports front, Lebanon’s top exported products were “Pearls, precious stones and metals” grasping a share of 25.43% of the total. “Prepared foodstuffs, beverages & tobacco” and “Base metals &articles of base metal” followed, with each grasping a share of 13.67% and 12.68%, respectively, of the total.
The top three export destinations in March 2021 were UAE, Saudi Arabia and USA with the respective shares of 20.12%, 7.29% and 6.56%.
Trade Deficit in March ($B)
