Comprised of the Middle Eastern territories known as the West Bank plus the Gaza Strip, the State of Palestine shipped US$161.6 million worth of products around the globe in 2023.

That calculated dollar amount results from an -85.4% setback from $1.1 billion 5 years earlier during 2019.

Year over year, the overall value of exported Palestinian goods shrank by -89.4% compared to $1.53 billion starting from 2022.

Palestine’s top 3 most valuable exports are iron or steel scrap, dates and miscellaneous prepared or preserved meat. Collectively, that trio of exported products accounted for 72% of overall revenues for Palestinian export sales in 2023.

Palestine’s Top Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 98.3% of products exported from Palestine was bought by importers in: Israel (85.2% of the Palestinian total), Jordan (6.5%), United Arab Emirates (1.8%), United States of America (1.2%), Türkiye (0.9%), Saudi Arabia (also 0.9%), Kuwait (0.5%), United Kingdom (also 0.5%), Qatar (0.3%), Germany (0.2%), France (0.2%) and Malaysia (also 0.2%).

The State of Palestine’s population is 5.3 million, comprised of 3.3 million people in the West Bank plus another 2.2 million living in the Gaza Strip. Therefore, Palestine’s total $161.6 million in 2023 exports translates to roughly $30 for every resident in the Middle Eastern country–higher than the average $25 one year earlier.

Palestine’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Palestinian global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Palestine.

From the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, monumental or building stone represent Palestine’s most valuable exported product followed by ethylene polymers, virgin olive oil, tobacco cigarettes and fresh or chilled cucumbers.

1. Iron, steel: US$73.1 million (45.2% of total exports)
2. Fruits, nuts: $45.2 million (28%)
3. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $5.4 million (3.4%)
4. Meat/seafood preparations: $5.4 million (3.3%)
5. Cereal/milk preparations: $3.4 million (2.1%)
6. Stone, plaster, cement, asbestos: $3.4 million (2.1%)
7. Vegetables: $3.3 million (2%)
8. Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $3.2 million (2%)
9. Coffee, tea, spices: $2.4 million (1.5%)
10. Pharmaceuticals: $2.1 million (1.3%)

Palestine’s top 10 export product categories generated 91% of the overall value of overall Palestinian global shipments in 2023.

Raw hides, leather plus other skins (excluding furskins) was the lone gainer among the top 10 export categories, up by 33.5% from 2022 to 2023.

The leading decliner among the top 10 Palestinian export categories were: stone, plaster, cement and asbestos (down -98.2% from 2022), animal or vegetable fats, oils and waxes (down -89.4%), coffee, tea and spices (down -86.6%) then vegetables (down 86.4%).

At the more detailed 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, the most lucrative exports from Palestine are iron or steel scrap (42.5% of Palestine’s worldwide total), dates (26.2%), miscellaneous prepared or preserved meat (3.3%), iron or non-alloy steel bars and rods (2.8%), olive oil (2.5%), bovine or equine rawhides and skins (2%) then monument or building stones (1.9%).

Products Attracting Palestine’s Best Trade Surpluses

The following types of Palestinian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Fruits, nuts: US$41 million (Reversing a -$99.5 million deficit in 2022)
2. Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $3 million (Down by -188.6% since 2022)
3. Meat/seafood preparations: $3.1 million (Reversing a -$27.3 million deficit)
4. Lead: $68,000 (Down by -97.7%)
5. Coffee, tea, spices: $63,000 (Reversing a -$45.3 million deficit)
6. Aircraft, spacecraft: $51,000 (2022 data unavailable)
7. Collector items, art, antiques: $25,000 (Reversing a -$77,000 deficit)

Palestine has highly positive net exports in the international trade of fruits and nuts, notably dates and almonds.

Products Causing Palestine’s Worst Trade Deficits

Palestine incurred an overall -US$1.6 billion product trade deficit for 2023, down by -79.4% from -$7.6 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2022.

Below are exports from Palestine that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Palestine’s goods trail Palestinian importer spending on foreign products.

1. Vehicles: -US$205.3 million (Down by -47.2% since 2022)
2. Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: -$141.7 million (Down by -22.2%)
3. Machinery including computers: -$84.5 million (Down by -74.7%)
4. Sugar, sugar confectionery: -$81.4 million (Down by -1.3%)
5. Cereal/milk preparations: -$80.6 million (Down by -58.2%)
6. Pharmaceuticals: -$70.4 million (Down by -71%)
7. Mineral fuels including oil: -$61.5 million (Down by -97.2%)
8. Milling products, malt, starches: -$57.7 million (Down by -2.3%)
9. Aluminum: -$52.5 million (Down by -38.3%)
10. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$51.9 million (Down by -86.4%)

Palestine has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the vehicles category, led by cars, trucks, and automotive parts or accessories.

Palestinian Export Companies

Not one Palestinian corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.

Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Palestine. Selected examples are shown below.

• Cremisan Cellars (winery)
• Jawwal (cellular network products)
• Lone Tree Brewery (beer, other beverages)
• Paltel (telecommunications)
• Sinokrot (food products, bottling)
• Taybeh Brewery (beer, other beverages)

 
From a macroeconomic perspective, Palestine’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was an estimated US$29.1 billion in 2023. Therefore, the Palestinian ratio of exports to GDP was a modest 0.6% for 2023.

Another important metric for measuring an economy’s health is its unemployment rate. Palestine’s unemployment rate was 24.1% as of September 2023, down from 25% one year earlier per Trading Economics.

See also Top Middle Eastern Export Countries, Israel’s Top 10 Exports and Jordan’s Top 10 Exports

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Middle East: Gaza Strip. Accessed on November 16, 2024

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Middle East: West Bank. Accessed on November 16, 2024

FlagPictures.org, Palestine’s flag. Accessed on November 16, 2024

Forbes, 2023 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on November 16, 2024

Foreign Trade , United States Census Bureau. Accessed on November 16, 2024

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on November 16, 2024

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on November 16, 2024

Trading Economics, Palestine’s GDP per capita (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity)

. Accessed on November 16, 2024

Wikipedia, Category: Companies based in the State of Palestine. Accessed on November 16, 2024

Wikipedia, State of Palestine. Accessed on November 16, 2024