On the current account side of the balance of payments, Lebanon’s balance of trade deficit narrowed by $458.67 million y-o-y to just below $12.50 billion in the first nine months of the current year, from around $12.96 billion during that same period last year, according to statistics published by the Lebanese Customs Administration. Said contraction in the deficit was triggered by a $607.11 million y-o-y hike in exports to nearly $2.81 billion, which outweighed the $148.44 million increase in imports to $15.30 billion.

Switzerland led the list of countries importing from Lebanon, with its imports invoice aggregating to $777 million (27.68% of Lebanon’s exports). The United States, on the other hand, topped the list of countries exporting to Lebanon, with its exports bill reaching $1,325 million (8.65% of Lebanon’s imports). This is further elaborated in the tables below:

Exports of “pearls, precious stones and metals” accounted alone for 38.97% ($1,094 million) of total Lebanese exports by September 2019, followed by “machinery and electrical instruments” ($284 million <10.11%>), “chemical products” ($279 million <9.94%>), and “prepared foodstuffs, beverages, and tobacco” ($275 million <9.79%>). On the other hand, “mineral products” constituted the lion’s share of imported goods ($5,212 million <34.06%>), trailed by “chemical products” ($1,556 million <10.17%>), “machinery and electrical instruments” ($1,333 million <8.71%>), and “vehicles, aircraft, vessels, and transport equipment” ($967 million <6.32%>).