COMCEC Trade Outlook 2016
18
The commodity concentration was even higher when
countries looked into specifically. Due to their
undiversified economic structure many OIC countries
rely upon a few primary products for their exports or
depend heavily on natural resources which might result
in a severe export revenue loss in case of either foreign
demand and/or commodity price shocks or drought for
agricultural commodity exporters. Recent oil price collapse and fall in other commodity prices
underlies the importance of policies aiming to step up export diversification to enhance
resilience to commodity price volatilities.
Figures 16 and 17 illustrate the share of the basic commodities in total exports of some member
states. Petroleumwas the main exported item in many members ranging between 50 to 100 per
cent of total exports. On the other hand, the share of non-monetary gold reached more than half
of total exports in Sudan, Mali and Burkina Faso. The share of textile related items in exports
reached 88 per cent in Bangladesh, 61 per cent in Gambia and 58 per cent in Pakistan. Basic
metals constituted a noticeable place in exports of some member states such as Guinea,
Mauritania and Niger where the share of metalliferous ores and metal scrap constituted around
half of exports.
Figure 16: Share of Petroleum in Total Exports, 2015
Source: UNCTADSTAT
“Dependence on a single
commodity is common
among OIC members’”