ABSTRACT
Issue 5 Availability of primary products In the nineteenth century the number of countries in the world that were net exporters of manufactured goods was small and these countries were almost all in Europe. Throughout the twentieth century industrialisation has proceeded fast in at least some countries in most of the world’s major regions: the USA, Japan, Russia/USSR, some Latin American countries, South Africa, India, China and recently in many other Newly Industrialising Countries. With time, such countries have become net exporters of manufactured goods. In many developing countries, population has grown faster than the production of agricultural and mineral primary products. An increasing proportion is used at home. The amount available for export has therefore diminished. One example must suffice here: coffee production in
Brazil. Table 18.1 shows that between 1950 and 1990 the population of Brazil increased approximately threefold. Coffee production in Brazil fluctuates from year to year, partly due to weather conditions, partly to prices. The data in column (2) are averages for three-year periods. Around 1950, coffee production was about 20 kg per head, but around 1990 it was only about 10 kg. Much of the coffee produced in Brazil is actually consumed internally. The proportion of exports accounted for by coffee has fallen drastically, dropping to less than 10 per cent of the value around 1990. Whether or
not coffee is a luxury is a matter of opinion, but the fact is that there is a similar trend in many developing countries for many primary products.
