Libya's production capacity is insufficient to meet the needs of the population for food, as a result of which the country is heavily dependent on imported supplies. Only a small part of the territory is suitable for agriculture due to the fact that about 95% of the country falls on deserts.
Agriculture is mainly carried out in the northern areas along the Mediterranean coast, where more precipitation falls. In addition, agriculture is conducted in oases located in the central and southern parts of Libya. There is a shortage of water in the country and agricultural production is almost completely dependent on underground non-renewable sources.
The production of vegetables, root crops and tubers in 2021 amounted to 953.8 thousand tons, which is 0.5% higher than in 2020. Since 2017, the production of this category of products has grown by an average of 0.6% per year. The basis of production is potatoes (328.9 thousand tons), tomatoes (219.5 thousand tons), as well as dried onions and shallots (189.5 thousand tons).
The country has also developed the production of fruits and berries, including watermelons (233.9 thousand tons in 2021), dates (179.6 thousand tons), plums and blackthorn (54.7 thousand tons). In total, 692.2 thousand tons of products were produced in this category in 2021.
Olives (173.3 thousand tons) and inshell almonds (34.6 thousand tons) occupy a significant share of production among crop products.
The food culture in Libya implies the consumption of a large amount of grain products, but domestic production is unable to meet demand, and the country meets the need for grain (mainly wheat and barley) due to import supplies. In total, 209.5 thousand tons of grain were produced in 2021. At the same time, the volume of leguminous production in 2021 amounted to 33.6 thousand tons. In both categories, there was no significant growth in domestic production during the period under review.
The production of chicken eggs in 2021 amounted to 1.31 billion pieces, which roughly corresponds to the annual level of previous years. Raw milk production amounted to 220.1 thousand tons, which is 0.2% higher than in 2020, but 4.6% lower than in 2017. More than half is cow's milk production (135.8 thousand tons in 2021). Followed by sheep's (60.8 thousand tons) and goat's milk (20.7 thousand tons).
Also in 2021, 196.2 thousand tons of meat and offal were produced, which is 0.3% higher than 2020 and 3.2% higher than 2017. The CAGR for the period under review was 0.8%.
The growth was mainly due to an increase in poultry meat production by 6.2% compared to 2017 to 127.6 thousand tons in 2021. 29.6 thousand tons of mutton and 11.9 thousand tons of goat meat were also produced, but there is a slight decrease in these categories.
The production of fish and seafood is fully provided by fishing, there is no aquaculture in Libya. According to estimates, 32.8 thousand tons of products were produced in 2021, which is 3.8% higher than the previous year.
Low indicators of agricultural production put Libya in a dependent position on imports. Thus, in 2021, products worth 4.2 billion US dollars were imported into the country, which is 23.5% higher than in 2020. At the same time, the figures for 2021 are a record for 2017-2021, exceeding 2017 deliveries by 38.1%. The cumulative average annual growth rate of imports of agricultural products of Libya for 2017-2021 was at the level of 8.4%.
The leading position of Libya's imports are cigars and cigarettes, whose share in the total volume of deliveries in value terms in 2021 amounted to 14.2% (592.5 million US dollars). This is followed by wheat and barley, which are in high demand in the Libyan market due to the peculiarities of the food culture, in which these types of products occupy a key place. The share of wheat in the country's imports amounted to 8.5% (355.2 million US dollars), barley — 5.4% (224.1 million US dollars).
In 2021, the three leaders in the supply of agricultural products to Libya included the UAE with a share of 13.7% (572.0 million US dollars), Turkey (11.4% or 474.7 million US dollars) and Ukraine (9.0% or 373.3 million US dollars). Russia took the fourth place with a share of 6.6%, having delivered products worth 274.9 million US dollars. Russian exports to Libya have increased significantly primarily due to the growth of wheat and barley supplies. Almost all the countries in the top 10 suppliers of agricultural products to Libya have increased their supply volumes. The only exception is Spain, which reduced supplies from $218.5 million in 2020 to $136.1 million. USA in 2021
Exports of agricultural products of Libya are insignificant compared to the volume of imports. In 2021, Libya exported agricultural products worth 0.03 billion US dollars.
More than half of the exports in 2021 were live fish (64.7%), which were exported for $20.4 million. The top three export positions also included fish fillets (13.2%) and dates (10.3%).
In 2021, the main importing countries of agricultural products from Libya were Malta (42.2% of the country's total exports in value terms), Turkey (16.3%), the Republic of Korea (15.2%) and Tunisia (7.7%). In total, the top 10 importing countries accounted for more than 96% of Libya's agricultural exports in 2021.
Agricultural production in Libya faces a number of factors hindering its effective development, including limited arable land and low soil fertility.
Due to the high birth rate (in 2021, the country was in third place in terms of fertility) and insufficient domestic production, Libya actively imports significant amounts of baby food and various infant formulas that replace breast milk.
Imported products are in high demand among consumers who consider them to be of higher quality compared to local ones.
Diabetes is an endemic disease in Libya, as a result, most of the adult population forms a demand for low-sugar or special diabetic products.
In Libya, the food culture is an important component, which has been formed over the years as a national tradition. The country has an increased consumption of food and beverages during religious holidays, especially Muslim ones, since Libya is a conservative Islamic state. During the holidays, the demand for dairy products, confectionery and meat is growing especially strongly.
The demand for international brands and new products stimulates investment in retail, but modern retail is still at the initial stages of development.
