Developing world makes progress in beneficiation

Container traffic figures show that developing countries are making “remarkable progress” in moving away from raw materials to finished goods, according to the 2011 Review of Maritime Transport published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad). Between 1970 and 2010 developing countries’ share of the volume of seaborne imports rose from just 18% to 56% of the world’s total. “Developing countries’ shipping no longer consists solely of raw materials exports to the developed world. Indeed the last decades have seen their increased participation in global supply chains, which led to a surge in imports of primary and intermediary products,” says the report. Asian developing countries are the best connected, according to Unctad’s Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI). The world’s busiest ports are Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. Developing countries have also become the main suppliers to the industry. “In shipbuilding (China and the Republic of Korea), scrapping (Bangladesh), and the provision of seafarers (Philippines), developing countries now account for more than three quarters of the world’s supply.