Industrial exports rise

Higher Syrian demand swells figures

Local industrial exports grew to $860 million in the first quarter of 2013, up by six percent compared to the same period of the previous year, figures released by the Ministry of Industry showed.

Khaled Farshoukh, Head of the Exports Development Council, said the increase was due to higher exports to Syria: “Many Syrian factories stopped operating due to the war, so local factories, especially food factories, benefited from this situation to satisfy demand on such products.” According to him, the increase in the first quarter did not involve Gulf countries, especially the sizeable export markets like Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

However, Farshoukh said transit shipments of fuel products listed under mineral products contributed to inflating the increase in industrial exports.

Farshoukh said although industrial exports grew, we have not yet recovered from the drop in exports that occurred last year. Industrial exports had fallen by around 11 percent in 2012 on an annual basis. “Local factories benefited from the Syrian turmoil, but our products were not alternatives to Syrian products in international markets, except for some oriental specialty foods products like hummus and tahini,” he said.