Africa's prospects for trade in selected primary commodities and capabilities for increasing export earning thought processing of selected primary commodities

Abstract

From time to time, various bodies have made attempts to find solutions to problems connected with using primary commodities to ensure Africa's economic development process. Similarly, numerous studies relating to processing of individual commodities have been conducted by such bodies as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to mention but a few. Each such study has attempted to target specific or individual issues of export interest to African countries. For example in 1979, during the fifth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) the international community adopted resolution 124(V) calling for the implementation of the Integrated Programme for Commodities (IPC) which among other things, stressed elements of processing, marketing and distribution of primary commodities with greater participation by developing countries in processing, transportation and distribution of their commodities at the local level, within a wider framework of international co-operation. This study is therefore complementary to ones prepared previously by the Trade and Development Finance Division.