A West Asian nation bordering Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Israel, the Syrian Arab Republic shipped US$819.6 million worth of exported products around the world in 2024.

That projected dollar amount results from a -14.3% drop from $956.7 million 5 years earlier in 2020.

Year over year, the value of Syria’s exported products retreated by -34.2% compared to $1.25 billion starting from 2023.

The 5 biggest exports from the Syrian Arab Republic are olive oil, uncombed cotton, miscellaneous nuts, natural calcium phosphates, then ginger, saffron and other spices. Combined, those 5 leading product categories accounted for almost three-fifths (57.5%) of the value of all Syrian exported products in 2024.

Major Syrian Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that an estimated 81.1% of products exported from Syria were bought by importers in: Iraq (20.2% of the global total), Italy (13.4%), Germany (13%), Turkey (5.5%), Saudi Arabia (4.8%), France (4.3%), Lebanon (3.8%), Jordan (3.6%), United States (3.5%), Netherlands (also 3.5%), Egypt (3.4%) and Spain (2.1%).

Given Syria’s population of an estimated 24.7 million people, its total $819.6 million in 2024 exports translates to approximately $33 for every resident in the Middle Eastern country. That per-capita amount lags the average $35 one year prior.

Syria’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups categorize the highest dollar value in Syrian global shipments during 2024 at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Syria.

1. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: US$307 million (37.5% of total exports)
2. Coffee, tea, spices: $78.5 million (9.6%)
3. Fruits, nuts: $74.7 million (9.1%)
4. Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $56.3 million (6.9%)
5. Cotton: $51.9 million (6.3%)
6. Vegetables: $41.4 million (5%)
7. Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $40.9 million (5%)
8. Live animals: $16.2 million (2%)
9. Cereals: $15.9 million (1.9%)
10. Iron, steel: $15.3 million (1.9%)

Syria’s top 10 export product categories generated well over four-fifths (85.2%) of the overall value of its global shipments.

Live animals represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 178.8% from 2023 to 2024.

The other winner for improving export sales was cotton via a 5.6% advance.

The leading decliner among Syria’s top 10 export categories were vegetables, pulled down by -71.9% year-over-year drop.

At the more detailed 4-digit HTS code level, Syria’s most valuable exported products were olive oil (37% of Syria’s global total), uncarded and uncombed cotton (6.3%), miscellaneous nuts (5%), natural calcium phosphates (also 5%), ginger, saffron and other spices (4.2%), cumin or coriander seeds and juniper berries (also 4.2%), preserved vegetables (3.6%), miscellaneous preserved fruits (2.9%), vinegar prepared or preserved vegetables, fruits and nuts (2%), then iron or steel scrap (1.9%).

Products Behind Syria’s Best Trade Surpluses

The following types of Syrian product shipments represent 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. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: US$122.4 million (Up by 13.3% since 2023)
2. Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $42.4 million (Down by -24.1%)
3. Cotton: $41.9 million (Up by 19.8%)
4. Wool: $8.9 million (Up by 9.4%)
5. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $6.2 million (Down by -28.1%)
6. Collector items, art, antiques: $4.7 million (Up by 44.4%)
7. Headgear: $2.3 million (Down by -16.4%)
8. Lead: $1.9 million (Down by -20.1%)
9. Furskins, artificial fur: $1.6 million (Down by -27.8%)
10. Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $642,000 (Down by -56.4%)

Syria has positive net exports in the international trade of animal or vegetable fats, oils and waxes. In turn, these cashflows indicate Syria’s strong competitive advantages under the related product category.

Products Causing Syria’s Worst Trade Deficits

Overall Syria incurred an estimated -US$2.6 billion trade deficit during 2024, down -16.6% from -$3.2 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2023.

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

1. Plastics, plastic articles: -US$246 million (Down by -16.5% since 2023)
2. Mineral fuels including oil: -$191.4 million (Down by -3.1%)
3. Iron, steel: -$149.4 million (Up by 4.3%)
4. Machinery including computers: -$142.2 million (Down by -20.9%)
5. Food industry waste, animal fodder: -$138.1 million (Up by 7%)
6. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$131.1 million (Down by -20.7%)
7. Cereals: -$126.1 million (Up by 3.1%)
8. Coffee, tea, spices: -$125.2 million (Up by 52.7%)
9. Milling products, malt, starches: -$113.5 million (Down by -26.5%)
10. Sugar, sugar confectionery: -$110 million (Up by 21%)

Syria has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the product category for plastics. That category encompasses both as a material itself and items made from plastics.

Syrian Export Companies

Not one Syrian corporation ranks among the Forbes Global 2000.

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

• Bank of Syria and Overseas (international bank)
• Château Bargylus (wine)
• Chemins de Fer Syriens (industrial transportation)
• Hmisho Trading Group (heavy metals, vehicles)
• Syrian Petroleum Company (oil, gas)

 
One key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. The unemployment rate for the Syrian Arab Republic averaged 13% for 2024, down from an average 13.2% jobless rate in 2023 according to Trading Economics metrics.

Syria’s capital city is Damascus.

See also Turkey’s Top Trading Partners, Top 10 Exports from Cyprus, Iraq’s Top Trading Partners, Italy’s Top Trading Partners and Germany’s Top Trading Partners

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on June 24, 2025

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 24, 2025

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 24, 2025

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 24, 2025

Trading Economics, Syria Unemployment Rate. Accessed on June 24, 2025

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Syria. Accessed on June 24, 2025

Wikipedia, Syria. Accessed on June 24, 2025