In its monthly bulletin issued on Monday, the council said exports reached 850,955 tons at a value of $128 million compared with 563,611 tons worth $67 million a year earlier.
 

The exports were sent to 100 countries, including 20 for the first time, it said, adding that Libya topped the countries that imported the materials followed by Saudi Arabia.
 

The list of importers included China, South Korea, the US, the UK,Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Mozambique, Macedonia, Thailand, Tanzania, Lithuania, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Latvia, Gabon, Nicaragua, Côte d'Ivoire, Kosovo, Djibouti and Moldova.