Table 8 Structure of total goods exports

Exports of goods of local origin were negligible.

Exports of commodities, such as energy and base metals, have also increased strongly.

The great share of perishable goods in these exports has an additional adverse effect on their realization on the above markets.

However such commodities should not be limited to primary products for exports.

Not only has Africa remained commodity dependent, but it has fallen behind other developing regions of the world in exports of non fuel primary commodities.

To improve and sustain the real income of individual developing countries through increased export earnings and to protect them from fluctuations in export earnings, especially from commodities

Exports and imports of merchandise, landlocked and transit developing countries and developing countries as a whole, 2000 2003

These countries depend on a small number of traditional agricultural commodities or minerals for most of their export earnings, and they export very limited quantities of higher value and processed goods.

Ten most dynamic commodities in world exports (ranked by growth in export value), 1985 2002.

Metal export receipts grew by 30.0 per cent to US  730 million as export volumes increased and international metal prices picked up.

Sources UNCTAD, Handbook of Statistics, 2004 (exports and imports of merchandise) and World Bank, World Development Indicators 2005 (GDP).

A devalued currency would increase exports and would cause Greek households and firms to substitute domestic products for imported goods.

Thus, steel products as a group were less dynamic than world exports but slightly more dynamic than commodities.

This has resulted in significant loss of export earnings for landlocked developing countries, which are dependent on exports of a very limited number of goods.

Falling commodity prices have tended to erode the value of exports and real incomes, while in most countries efforts at diversification have made little headway.

In Central America, for example, the drastic drop in the price of export commodities has caused a deep economic recession.

I've looked to see what is the relationship between higher commodity prices of exports, and the growth of commodity exporting countries.

Major exports include petroleum products, textile goods, jewellery, software, engineering goods, chemicals, and leather manufactures.

These data therefore do not include exports of goods that took place on an MFN basis although they were eligible for preferential treatment.

The persistent decline in the prices of commodities that determine the export earnings of developing countries is continuing this year.

In fact, during the 1980s Africa lost market shares in the total primary commodity exports of all developing countries.

In the external sector, merchandise exports rose by 24.0 per cent to reach US  1,137 million with receipts from both metal and non metal exports rising.

As a result, in real terms per capita export earnings from commodities declined by 4.7 per cent per year.

Secondly, the exports of these commodities have been stagnant and in general are likely to face poor prospects in the future.

77. The largest category of imports since 1988 has been capital goods, namely, plant and machinery for the construction of industry, motor vehicles and central heating systems.

Commodity exporters that have benefited from recent increases in prices and export volumes must maintain their efforts to diversify their commodity sector, as well as to generate higher value added in other sectors.

Goods manufactured for export include watches, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals and rum, which accounts for 15 per cent of the Territory's export revenue.

Rapid diversification of exports into manufactures reduced the fluctuations and losses in terms of trade in the early 1990s.

As a result of higher commodity prices and lower income from exports, those States, which were net importers of oil, minerals and other essential commodities, would face deteriorating terms of trade on a long term basis.

Weak non oil commodity prices depressed the export earnings of the majority of African countries and some Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Japan accounts for only 5 of America s exports and 8 of China s.

The situation in Latin America is more similar to that in Africa in that its dependency on primary commodity exports has remained even higher than that of Africa, but its rate of growth has been better.

In the late 19th century, world demand for cocoa tied the economy to commodity exports and led to migrations from the highlands to the agricultural frontier on the coast.

While the share of agricultural commodities in total imports is estimated at around 17.1 per cent in 1991, their share in exports was a mere 2.6 per cent.

With regard to Africa apos s commodity exports, the international environment remains hostile. Falling prices have depressed the export earnings of African countries, notwithstanding increased volumes.

Trends in commodities prices indicated that export diversification must remain a long term goal of commodity dependent countries, particularly in Africa.

Africa relies on too few commodities for its export earnings exports of those commodities have been stagnant and for the most part offer little prospect for growth.

Manufactured exports continued to increase rapidly in 1993 and rose to over 50 per cent of total exports, while the shares of oil and other commodities fell to 26 per cent and 20 per cent respectively of total exports.

Exports of military equipment Cyprus does not export any

Exports of military equipment

Latvia has developed and is implementing a strict and effective export control system over sensitive dual use and strategic goods and technologies, including nuclear materials.

Improvements in the business environment as well as increased investment outlays especially in the agri business sector also provided an impetus to growth in non metal exports.

In Asia particularly, there are fewer countries so dependent on primary commodity exports and the region apos s extent of diversification is far higher (only 11 per cent of export earnings derived from primary commodities at the end of the 1980s).

Those resources are used to raise imports of goods and a broad range of services above what could be afforded out of export earnings and to add to official foreign reserves.