The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Lebanese global shipments during 2017. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Lebanon.

At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, cars are Lebanon’s most valuable export product followed by gold, iron or steel scrap, electric generating sets or converters, copper scrap, printed books and brochures, jewelry, diamonds then sugar.

1. Vehicles: US$623.3 million (19% of total exports)
2. Gems, precious metals: $548.5 million (16.7%)
3. Electrical machinery, equipment: $165.9 million (5%)
4. Machinery including computers: $137.8 million (4.2%)
5. Plastics, plastic articles: $133.7 million (4.1%)
6. Perfumes, cosmetics: $116.7 million (3.5%)
7. Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $98 million (3%)
8. Iron, steel: $92.7 million (2.8%)
9. Miscellaneous food preparations: $85.3 million (2.6%)
10. Copper: $76.3 million (2.3%)

Lebanon’s top 10 exports accounted for 63.2% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Vehicles was the fastest-growing among the top 10 export categories, up by 4,243% from 2016 to 2017.

In second place for improving export sales was iron and steel which rose by 73.9%.

Lebanese copper posted the third-fastest gain in value via a 5.2% increase.

The leading decliner among the top 10 Lebanese export categories was gems and precious metals which fell by -33.8% led by lower international revenues for gold.

Six categories of Lebanese exported products generated positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Lead: US$28.1 million (Up by 76% since 2016)
2. Books, newspapers, pictures: $27 million (Up by 349%)
3. Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $22.1 million (Up by 11.7%)
4. Fertilizers: $8.9 million (Reversing a -$17.9 million deficit)
5. Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $2.3 million (Up by 3.9%)
6. Miscellaneous animal-origin products: $415,000 (Down by -46.6%)

Lebanon has highly positive net exports in the international trade of lead and miscellaneous items made from lead. In turn, these cashflows indicate Lebanon’s strong competitive advantages under the lead product category.

Overall Lebanon incurred a -$14 billion product trade deficit for 2017 down by -10.9% from -$15.7 billion one year earlier.

Below are exports from Lebanon that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Lebanon’s goods trail Lebanese importer spending on foreign products.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: -US$3.3 billion (Down by -11.2% since 2016)
2. Pharmaceuticals: -$1.1 billion (Down by -3.6%)
3. Vehicles: -$1 billion (Down by -39%)
4. Machinery including computers: -$924.3 million (Down by -0.5%)
5. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$543.3 million (Down by -11.9%)
6. Iron, steel: -$491.7 million (Down by -7.2%)
7. Plastics, plastic articles: -$453.4 million (Down by -2.7%)
8. Gems, precious metals: -$324.5 million (Down by -24%)
9. Cereals: -$290.2 million (Up by 3.3%)
10. Live animals: -$289.7 million (Down by -6.2%)

Lebanon has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the mineral fuels including oil category, notably for refined petroleum oils, petroleum gases and petroleum coke.

Lebanese Export Companies

Two regional banks headquartered in Lebanon rank among Forbes Global 2000 for 2016, namely Bank Audi and Blom Bank.

Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Lebanon. Selected examples are shown below:

• Bonjus (juice)
• Château Musar (winery)
• IXSIR wine (winery)
• Massaya (winery, distillery)
• Middle East Airlines (airliner)
• Tabbah (jewelry)