Coll 54/2 'Middle East (Official) Committee: Working Party' [‎53r] (105/642)

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Cement prcrivo ti on arr^intb ':o about 150->000- y tona a year*
Lack of power at presexjb prevents full capacity prodnoi^on*
factory An East India Company trading post. situated on the coast is well placed for export - 65^000 tons
we^e shipped in 1937 - and expansion up to a productive capacity.
orX)0,000 tons a year which is in hand appears justified#
The tanning and connected industries which greatly expanded
during the period between the two v/ars and was the basis of
considerable export trade to neighbouring countries, particularly
Palestine, has recently lost ground* Though only partly dependent
on locally produced raw hides its encouragement is doubly important
to the country,,
Olive oil is produced in considerable quantities* It is
mainly consumed locally as food or in the manufacture of soap but
fairly large quantities are‘also exported. The oil is obtained
from innumerable primitive presses scattered throughout the olive
producing areas. The need for technical improvement is obvious
and the formation of industrial associations has been suggested.
Since the war a modern refining plant has been erected by local
business men who hope to secure British participation in its
operation*
About a half of the soap produced in Syria and the Lebanon is
of Lebanese manufacture* In the past this soap was renowned ir the:
Middle East but both Syria and the Lebanon now import more soap
than they export. The industry stands in need of complete overhaul.
The canning and pi industry is at present on a small
scale and is workirn- Zuider considerable difficulties caused to some
extent by the high i;>rices of imported tin plate and sugar. The
industry deserves to be encouraged both for its own sake and ior the
stimulus it would give to agriculture. The freezing of fruit and
vegetables would also appear to be a suitable development*
Lack of coal and iron makes development of heavy industries
impossible. The Lebanon’s raw materials are the product of the land
and industry should in general be based on the transformation and
processing of these products. Possible exceptions are the
manufacture of nylon and fertilisers,markets for which are considerable
The former u.^vur calls for heavy capital expenditure and for
technical skill wh 1 eh is not at present to be found in the country,
ihe manufacture of nitrogenous fertilisers - the requirements of the
Lebanon and Syria are likely to reach 20,000 tons a year in the
near future " calls not only for capital and technical skill but
also for power. It has been estimated that’ 10,000 kws. are required
for the production of the 20,000 tons a year. A further possibility
is the manufacture of super-phosphates and this development which
would involve the import of phosphates from Jordan, is already
being studied* Cheap power which would also encourage foreign
manufacturers to set up assembly plants possibly to cover the
whole Middle East is essential.
In the past commerce has been favoured at the expense of
industry which not in general received the official support it
requires, A beginning has however been made and in May, 1949
restrictions on imports affecting local industries (textiles,
leather goods and preserves) were irrrposed and the Lebanese-Syrian
Ecopomic Agreement in 1949 has provided for increase in import
duties on cotton and artificial silk yarns and on textiles. It
also provided for increases in tariffs to protect local industries
and for reductions in tariffs on raw materials required by
local industry to be studied*
It should be noted that although the Lebanon has no known oil
resources, the oil industry brings considerable wealth to the
/country