Analysis of Africa´s export composition shows that most African countries have not diversified their export products, according to the 2008 Economic Development in Africa report by Unctad. “On the contrary, more than 60% of African countries registered higher export concentration indexes in 2006 relative to 1995, increasing these countries' vulnerability to falls in prices for a small number of commodities,” it finds. Most African countries that increased their export revenues owed it to unexpected hikes in the prices of fuel and other minerals, such as copper and gold. The ratio of the value of fuel exports to GDP increased from 5% in 1998 to more than 15% in 2006. Over the same period, the corresponding ratio for nonfuel primary commodities and manufactured products remained constant, each at about 5% of GDP. These statistics suggest that the current commodity boom should not lure African countries into a false sense of prosperity. Africa remains vulnerable to the vagaries of international commodity prices, the report warns.
