Buy Lebanese, please

A new campaign was launched in September by the Ministry of Industry and the Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI) with the slogan “Your industry, your identity: Buy Lebanese.” It is aimed at giving the sector a boost in the current economic downturn, given that some 60 percent of the manufacturing industry’s sales are local. It is a good move, but the sector could have done with greater recognition from the government of its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), which has gone from 9 percent in 2009 to an estimated 19 percent today. Such a move could have included giving the ministry governing the sector a decent budget and pushing state agencies to actually buy Lebanese products. The Ministry of Industry’s current budget is a measly $5.14 million, which is barely enough to pay for salaries yet alone have a decent marketing budget to promote Lebanese industry around the world.