Manufactured exports
stable at $2.5 billion in 2024

Industrial exhibition announced to attract global buyers

Industrial exports decreased slightly by 1.5 percent to $2.5 billion in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to the Ministry of Industry (MoI). Exports remain at their precrisis level which averaged $2.5 billion in the three-year period 2017-2019.

The major sectors that witnessed increases in exports include the chemical industry whose exports grew by 19 percent to $440 million. The largest export destination was the United States which imported close to $90 million worth of chemical products. The growth in chemical exports was also driven by higher exports to Iraq, Turkey, and Italy.

Exports of prepared foodstuffs and tobacco increased by 8.7 percent to around $420 million.

The highest growth rate was recorded by exports of fats and edible fats and oils which jumped by 86 percent to nearly $90 million.

Exports of machinery, and electrical equipment totaled $529.2 million and represented the largest share of total exports though they decreased by 8.6 percent compared to 2023. Iraq was the top importer of this category ($72 million).

Exports to Arab countries accounted for 39 percent of the total while the share of European countries was 21 percent. The top three export destinations were the United Arab Emirates (ten percent), USA (7.8 percent), and Iraq (7.7 percent).

Imports of industrial machinery and equipment totaled $132 million in 2024. Most of these imports came from China ($43 million), Italy ($24 million), and Germany ($16 million).

Minister of Industry Joe Issa El Khoury said that the decline in imports of industrial machinery and equipment could be offset by local production which is currently thriving and is able to compete with Italian industrial machinery. He said that locally-made industrial machinery is being exported to the US, Arab countries, and Europe.

El Khoury said that the Ministry of Industry has carried out several workshops with the Association of Industrialists (ALI) to address the challenges facing the sector and that they have identified 31 major obstacles. He said they are cooperating with different ministries and the Customs authorities to remove most of these impediments before the expiry of the Cabinet’s term next May. El Khoury said that the MoI is working to reduce the cost of energy for the industrial sector and that the outcome will be announced soon. Lebanese manufacturers currently pay 29 US cents per kilowatt while their counterparts in other countries pay much less such as Egypt (two cents), Gulf countries (five to six cents) and Turkey (5.2 cents). El Khoury said that the energy cost of Lebanese industrialists must be reduced to at least 10-12 cents.

The MoI is also working on a National Industrial Strategy in collaboration with ALI that will be announced next October. El Khoury said the strategy has identified promising industrial subsectors with competitive advantages that must be the focus of government support.

Salim Zeenni, Chairman of ALI, said that manufacturers don’t ask the government for protectionist measures but rather to reduce their costs, mainly energy cost, and to have a favorable business environment.

Zeenni was talking on the occasion of the announcement of the Lebanese Industry Expo which will take place in the Seaside Arena from October 29 to November 1. He said that 150 to 180 Lebanese manufacturing companies from 17 industrial sectors will participate in the exhibition which will cover an area of 10,000 square meters.

ALI will seek to attract potential international buyers from Europe, Gulf countries, USA, and other countries to the exposition where they will be able to close business-to-business deals and they could also visit local factories. Potential buyers will be reached through economic attachés at Lebanese embassies and in cooperation with businesspersons from the Lebanese Diaspora.