ABSTRACT
From 1928 to 1961, exports of primary products grew slowly rela tive to total world output, by 1 • 4 per cent per annum against 2 • 7 per cent per annum. This was due to a number of well-discussed factors. First, production of primary goods grew more slowly than total production, by 1 • 7 per cent per annum. The main causes of this have been the growth of synthetics and the fall in the raw material content of final output. Secondly, exports of primary products grew more slowly than their production, as a result of increased self-sufficiency in the rich countries, this in turn being the result of technological advances and protectionism. Since the poor countries in the aggre gate export almost entirely primary products, this has meant a very slow growth of world demand for their exports, aggravated by the fact that the primary product exports of the rich countries themselves grew relatively fast.
