A report issued by the Audi Lebanese Bank, according to the trade statistics issued by the Lebanese Customs Authority, revealed a 50% decrease in the foreign trade deficit, amid a 42% decrease in imports.
Foreign trade-in Lebanon witnessed a significant decrease in the deficit by 50% during the first four months of 2020, compared to the first four months of 2019, as it decreased from $5.2 billion to $2.6 billion, and this significant decline in the trade deficit was driven by a decrease in imports by 41.7 percent (which is a continuous trend since late November, mainly related to difficult economic conditions), and exports decreased by 3.3 percent (the first drop in a year mainly following the declaration of the state of emergency in March).
Accordingly, total exports and imports decreased by 35.9%, to reach $4.8 billion during the first four months of 2020, while the ratio of exports to imports increased significantly from 17.8% to 29.5% between the two periods.
Source (Economic Bulletin Website, Edited)
