Lebanon’s agro-industrial sector by Siham Rizkallah

Lebanon’s agro-industrial sector Introduction I) Agricultural and Industrial sectors situations 1) Agricultural sector situation 2) Industrial sector situation II) Export markets III) Weaknesses and problems 1) Main weaknesses 2) Major problems IV) Reform and cost competitiveness issues Conclusion

I) Agricultural and industrial sectors situations 1) Agricultural sector situation Employs 7% of the country’s labor force Contributes to 12% of the GDP Products for local consumption and exports Between 15% and 20% of all exports

I) Agricultural and industrial sectors situations 2) Industrial sector situation Employs 21% of the country’s labor force Contributes to 23% of the GDP Products for local consumption and exports

II) Lebanese export of prepared food-stuffs by destination (2001) CountryExportsShare USA % Saudi-Arab % Germany6.76.7% Syria4.64.6% UAE4.24.3% Belgium3.83.9% UK3.63.6% Kuwait3.63.6% Jordan3.53.5% CountryExportsShare France3.03.0% Egypt2.92.9% Canada2.42.4% Greece2.12.1% Cyprus2.02% Qatar1.81.9% Sub-total % All others % Total100100%

III) Weaknesses and problems 1) Main weaknesses Lack of coordination Lack of long-terms credits Fragmented marketing channels

III) Weaknesses and problems 2) Major problems High cost production Competition from imported commodities Lack of market channels

IV) Reform and Cost competitiveness issues Modernize laws ⇒ safety and quality Better techniques ⇒ cost reduction Access to credit ⇒ more investments