Statistics from the Lebanese Export and Industrial Institutions' guide over the past decade from 2014 to 2023 show that Lebanon's trade balance with 18 Arab countries achieved a surplus with 6 Arab countries, notably Syria, Iraq, and Qatar, while incurring losses with 12 Arab countries, including Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
According to records from Lebanese customs during the mentioned period, Syria ranked first in imports from Lebanon, followed by Iraq in second place and Qatar in third. Syria's imports from Lebanon over the past decade reached $1.973 billion, resulting in a profitable surplus for Lebanon of $760.195 million. Iraq ranked second in terms of imports from Lebanon and first in terms of profit surplus, with its imports totaling $1.676 billion against exports amounting to $48.974 million, yielding a profit surplus of $1.628 billion.
The most notable Arab countries where Lebanon recorded losses and trade deficits were Egypt, with a deficit of $3.986 billion, followed by Kuwait with a deficit of $1.835 billion, Saudi Arabia with a trade deficit of $1.401 billion, and the United Arab Emirates with a deficit of $720 million. Sources in major transportation companies attributed that if it weren't for the state of war and crises in Syria, internal events in certain areas of Iraq, along with the American forces' occupation of the Tanf border crossing between Syria and Iraq—which increased transport costs to multiple times the real cost—Lebanese exports to Iraq and Syria would have quintupled.
