ABSTRACT
In 2001 agriculture accounted for 11.7% of Suriname’s gross domestic product (GDP). Only 0.3% of the land is arable, 0.06% under permanent crops, 0.1% permanent pasture and more than 80% forest and woodland. The main crops are rice, bananas and oil palm. Cattle are mainly kept as draught animals. Fishing is a significant activity. Large logging concessions have been granted despite environmental protests, but as yet little has been exported. The main mineral resource is bauxite. The principal industry is the processing of bauxite into alumina and finished aluminium. The main energy source is petroleum, discovered in 1981, a small proportion of which is exported. Main exports are rice, bananas, sugar, oranges, and shrimp. Principal imports are food and beverages, fuels, basic manufactures and road vehicles. In 2000 Norway was the greatest purchaser of exports, followed by the USA and the Netherlands. The USA was the main supplier of imports, followed by the Netherlands and Japan.
