Regional export playbook

Lebanon in Middle East
where to look next

Compare buyer markets, access conditions, and product opportunities across Middle East. Use this guide to prioritize research, not to treat calculated indicators as guaranteed sales.

LBN9 markets2024 trade year
3-year opportunity$278.7BCalculated addressable value
Buyer markets9Markets with qualifying rows
FTA markets7Reported access indicator
Avg. distance1,415 kmAverage reported distance
Avg. entry days18Business entry indicator

Middle East regional view

Should Lebanon focus here?

The answer depends on demand, product fit, access, competition, and route economics. This playbook shows where the available trade signals are strongest.

Largest market shown

United Arab Emirates

$119.0B calculated opportunity across 29 screened products.

Regional footprint

9 buyer markets

Reported trade and access indicators are available for the qualifying markets shown below.

How to use the guide

Compare demand with access

Start with the strongest markets, then validate buyers, tariffs, standards, logistics, and competition at product level.

Market comparison

Which markets deserve a closer look?

Markets are ranked by calculated three-year opportunity across the qualifying products in this regional view.

MarketOpportunityProductsFTADistanceEntry daysTop product
United Arab EmiratesARE$119.0B29Reported2,110 km4Telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks
TurkeyTUR$81.2B20Not reported985 km7Product not reported
Saudi ArabiaSAU$37.2B18Reported1,498 km10Metals: gold, non-monetary, unwrought (but not powder)
IraqIRQ$19.5B9Reported830 km27Jewellery: of precious metal (excluding silver) whether or not plated or clad with precious metal, and parts thereof
Iran (Islamic Republic of)IRN$7.3B4Not reported1,469 km73Turbines: parts of turbo-jets and turbo-propellers
QatarQAT$5.7B6Reported1,821 km9Aircraft and spacecraft: parts of aeroplanes or helicopters n.e.c. in heading no. 8803
KuwaitKWT$3.4B3Reported1,287 km19Telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks
OmanOMN$2.9B2Reported2,521 km4Metals: gold, non-monetary, unwrought (but not powder)
JordanJOR$2.5B2Reported217 km13Product not reported

Top regional opportunities

Products and markets to review

The rows below are screened by reported buyer demand, exporter position, and available history. Calculated opportunity is a research signal, not a forecast.

RankMarketProductOpportunityBuyer growthCurrent share
1United Arab EmiratesAREHS 851712Telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks$27.3B+20.6%+0.0%
2TurkeyTURHS 271019Product description unavailable$23.6B+16.7%+0.0%
3United Arab EmiratesAREHS 710812Metals: gold, non-monetary, unwrought (but not powder)$20.1B+43.7%+0.1%
4TurkeyTURHS 710812Metals: gold, non-monetary, unwrought (but not powder)$17.7B+32.1%+0.2%
5TurkeyTURHS 711319Jewellery: of precious metal (excluding silver) whether or not plated or clad with precious metal, and parts thereof$10.5B+23.9%+0.1%
6United Arab EmiratesAREHS 841191Turbines: parts of turbo-jets and turbo-propellers$8.2B+21.6%+0.0%
7Saudi ArabiaSAUHS 710812Metals: gold, non-monetary, unwrought (but not powder)$6.7B+11.5%+0.1%
8United Arab EmiratesAREHS 711319Jewellery: of precious metal (excluding silver) whether or not plated or clad with precious metal, and parts thereof$6.5B+11.6%+1.7%
9United Arab EmiratesAREHS 271012Product description unavailable$6.2B+16.6%+0.0%
10United Arab EmiratesAREHS 847130Data processing machines: portable, digital and automatic, weighing not more than 10kg, consisting of at least a central processing unit, a keyboard and a display$6.1B+16.2%+0.0%
11IraqIRQHS 711319Jewellery: of precious metal (excluding silver) whether or not plated or clad with precious metal, and parts thereof$5.7B+32.9%+0.0%
12Saudi ArabiaSAUHS 271012Product description unavailable$5.6B+23.7%+0.0%
13TurkeyTURHS 270112Coal: bituminous, whether or not pulverised, but not agglomerated$5.5B+11.8%+0.0%
14Saudi ArabiaSAUHS 851712Telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks$5.3B+19.1%+0.0%
15United Arab EmiratesAREHS 880310Aircraft and spacecraft: propellers and rotors and parts thereof$4.6B+26.4%+0.0%
16United Arab EmiratesAREHS 710239Diamonds: non-industrial, (other than unworked or simply sawn, cleaved or bruted), but not mounted or set$4.1B+17.4%+0.2%
17TurkeyTURHS 270900Oils: petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude$4.0B+3.3%+0.0%
18IraqIRQHS 870323Vehicles: spark-ignition internal combustion reciprocating piston engine, cylinder capacity exceeding 1500cc but not exceeding 3000cc$3.9B+40.3%+0.0%
19Iran (Islamic Republic of)IRNHS 841191Turbines: parts of turbo-jets and turbo-propellers$3.7B+28.7%+0.2%
20United Arab EmiratesAREHS 740311Copper: refined, unwrought, cathodes and sections of cathodes$3.7B+21.3%+0.0%

Sector opportunities

Which product families lead?

HS2 groups make it easier to compare broad product families before moving to individual HS6 products.

HS2 71

HS2 sector 71

15 screened products with $156.2B of reported buyer imports.

$82.1BCalculated opportunity · +23.2% average growth

HS2 85

HS2 sector 85

15 screened products with $48.8B of reported buyer imports.

$48.8BCalculated opportunity · +18.2% average growth

HS2 00

HS2 sector 00

7 screened products with $58.0B of reported buyer imports.

$41.1BCalculated opportunity · +18.2% average growth

HS2 84

HS2 sector 84

14 screened products with $34.3B of reported buyer imports.

$32.4BCalculated opportunity · +19.8% average growth

HS2 87

HS2 sector 87

15 screened products with $49.8B of reported buyer imports.

$29.4BCalculated opportunity · +23.7% average growth

HS2 27

HS2 sector 27

4 screened products with $16.4B of reported buyer imports.

$11.7BCalculated opportunity · +10.9% average growth

HS2 88

HS2 sector 88

2 screened products with $4.0B of reported buyer imports.

$6.2BCalculated opportunity · +26.7% average growth

HS2 74

HS2 sector 74

3 screened products with $5.7B of reported buyer imports.

$5.7BCalculated opportunity · +30.4% average growth

Frequently asked questions

Using the Middle East export playbook

Practical guidance for interpreting regional market and product comparisons.

Should Lebanon focus on this region?

Use the market ranking as a starting point, then check product fit, buyer requirements, route costs, tariffs, standards, and competitive conditions.

What does calculated opportunity mean?

It is a screening indicator built from demand and exporter-position signals. It is not a confirmed order, sales forecast, or guarantee of market entry.

How should exporters use this page?

Prioritize one market and product combination, then validate buyers, compliance, logistics, pricing, and continuity before making a commercial decision.

Data source

OECD trade statistics with CEPII context

OECD (2025), Balanced international merchandise trade statistics (BIMTS) - HS2017-6D, OECD Data Explorer (accessed on 2026-08-30). OECD BIMTS is the primary trade series for this view. Supporting bilateral trade context uses CEPII BACI bilateral trade flows (202601) under Etalab 2.0 Open Licence. Yugalinks presents derived views of reported observations and calculated indicators. Data terms: OECD Terms & Conditions.