Libya: Agri-Commodity Market Overview

Libya is one of the most important countries in the Mediterranean region due to its strategic location, natural resources and proximity to Europe. Its Agri-Commodity Market is mainly composed of olive trees, citrus fruits, dates and cereals. Besides the traditional crops mentioned above, Libya also produces vegetables and livestock.

Libya has a very long coastline along its southern border with Tunisia and Egypt. This allows it to export its goods throughout North Africa and Europe. In addition, Libya has a very large desert area where agriculture can be practiced without irrigation systems or other water management techniques that are required in other parts of the world.

Libya’s agricultural sector plays an important role in the country’s economy as its main source of income after oil production and export. Agriculture contributes about 7% to Libya’s GDP and employs about 40% of the labor force (about 1 million workers). The agriculture sector generates about 11% of total export earnings from agro-products alone. In addition, agriculture contributes about 40% of total export earnings from agro-products alone.

Agricultural Production

Libya has traditionally been a net importer of food products, but this has changed dramatically over the past decade. In 2015, agriculture accounted for 11 percent of GDP and employed just over 10 percent of its workforce. This was an increase from just 2 percent of GDP in 2005 when oil prices were high and Libya was not importing any food products.

Libya imports most of its food products from neighboring countries such as Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt. However, due to political unrest in these countries over the past few years there have been issues with supply which have led to shortages on supermarket shelves across Libya’s major cities such as Tripoli and Benghazi. In addition to this there have been reports that some Libyan farmers have struggled to access fertilizer due to restrictions placed by foreign companies operating within Libya due to security concerns following recent attacks on oil fields and pipelines around the Sirte region (Northern part).

Agri-Commodities Import In Libya From India

Libya is one of the largest importer of agriculture commodities from India. The import of agricultural commodities from India by Libya has increased significantly in recent years. The major products imported from India are Rice, Maize and Wheat.

The import of Agri-Commodities from India to Libya was USD 5.8 billion in 2019 which accounted for 6% of total imports. It increased from USD 4 billion in 2018 and USD 3 billion in 2017.

Rice is the most important commodity imported by Libya from India accounting for 10% of total imports from India during January-November 2019. It increased by 18% YoY during January-November 2019 as compared to last year (January-November 2018), which was USD 981 million. Maize contributed 7% share to total agricultural imports during January-November 2019 as compared to last year (January-November 2018) which was USD 877 million. Wheat contributed only 2% share in terms of value during the same period but it has increased by 17% YoY during January-November 2019 as compared to January-November 2018 which was USD 608 million.

Libya Government Role In Agriculture Market

The Libyan Government plays a significant role in Agri-trading. The government’s main objective is to improve food security, which is done by increasing agricultural productivity and improving the quality of agricultural products produced.

The Libyan government has several initiatives in place to accomplish this goal. The first initiative is to promote research and development (R&D) activities in the agriculture sector. There are several institutes that conduct research on different aspects of agriculture including: crop production, livestock production, fisheries, agro-chemicals and food technology. These institutes also conduct applied research on how to use new technologies or improve existing ones.

Another initiative that the Libyan government utilizes is conducting studies on how to utilize water resources more efficiently and effectively because water scarcity is an issue in Libya especially during summer months when temperatures reach above 40°C (104°F). This can cause food shortages during these times if there are not enough resources available for irrigation purposes or if farmers do not have access to sufficient amounts of water for their crops such as vegetables and fruits which require less water than cereals like wheat or barley which need more water due to their higher growth requirements in order for them to grow properly (Livestock & Dairy Development Agency 2011).

Conclusion

The following is a brief overview of Libya’s agriculture and agri-commodities market. The country is mainly an oil producer but also has some agriculture and domesticated livestock production.

Original Source: https://blog.tradologie.com/libya-agri-commodity-market-overview/