Lebanon's trade deficit jumped 10 percent at $6 billion in the first five months of 2011, as total imports reached $7.7 billion while aggregate exports decreased by 1 percent to $1.7 billion, Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group, reported Saturday. Imports of oil and mineral fuels increased by 7 percent year-on-year to nearly $1.5 billion, while non-hydrocarbon imports grew by 7.4 percent to $6.2 billion. In volume terms, imports reached 5.6 million tons in the first five months of 2011, constituting a decrease of 5 percent from the same period last year, while exports contracted by 1 percent to 1.25 million tons in the same period, leading to a trade deficit of 4.35 million tons, down 7 percent year-on-year. Imports of oil and mineral fuels fell 12 percent year-on-year to nearly 2 million tons, while non-hydrocarbon imports dropped by 1.6 percent annually to 3.6 million tons. Switzerland was the main export destination with $173 million or 10 percent of the total, followed by the UAE with $144 million (8 percent), Saudi Arabia with $127 million (7 percent), Turkey with $119 million (7 percent), Iraq with $103 million (6 percent) and Syria $77 million (4 percent). Exports to Saudi Arabia and Turkey rose by 24 percent each, while exports to Switzerland, the UAE and Syria declined by 17 percent each, and exports to Iraq regressed by 7 percent. Lebanon's main export was jewelry at $559 million or 33 percent of total exports, followed by base metals with $250 million (15 percent), machinery and mechanical appliances with $220 million (13 percent), prepared foodstuff with $150 million (9 percent) and chemical products with $134 million (8 percent). Re-exports totaled $319 million in the first five months, compared to $60 million in the same period last year.
