Overview

Before starting to export, you need to make sure that your product abides with all the local and international quality requirements to be eligible to enter a certain country. Ensuring that your products meet all those regulations will make your market entry faster and more cost-efficient.

1. National Quality Standards

Manufacturing companies in Lebanon need to abide by the national quality standards, which are issued by the Lebanese Standards Institution (LIBNOR), the sole national standardization body which is entitled to authorize the use of the Lebanese Conformity Mark proving the compliance of products to Lebanese standards.

Companies that need to inquire about the national standards for their specific products can request the documents from LIBNOR against a small fee. These documents provide all information on approved technical specifications. Companies can also pursue ISO international standards through the “Online Store for ISO Standards and Publications” from LIBNOR’s website.

The Ministry of Industry is the entity responsible for inspecting and monitoring whether companies are abiding by the general quality and safety requirements. For agriculture and agro-food companies, the Ministry of Agriculture is also in charge of the inspection to ensure that food safety measures are in place. Entities that are found to be compliant, are assigned a health registration number, which is a prerequisite to export or sell these products on the local market. You can check the general quality and safety requirements for agro-food industries in Lebanon published by the Ministry of Industry on its website.

2. International Standards and Requirements

In addition to local quality market requirements, exporters need to abide by foreign standards and quality requirements to be able to access those markets.

Today, there are more than 60 accredited laboratories from both public and private sectors, including the National Research Institute (IRI) that can help exporters test their products and certify that they are conforming to international standards and regulations.

You can check the full list of accredited laboratories under our Trade Support section which can help in testing your products and provide you with the needed quality certificates.

Throughout the export process, it is the responsibility of the exporter to ensure that the goods shipped are in conformity with the relevant local and international requirements.

Occasionally, some countries impose non-tariff barriers on certain products. These barriers take on several forms. For example, in some cases, the importing country might require inspection of the products prior to arrival by an internationally recognized inspection body such as Bureau Veritas, SGS, and Apave. You always need to be up-to-date on all the regulations to avoid any surprises and delays for customs clearance in your target country.