In the past half century, the developing countries have experienced Essay

In the past half century, the developing countries have experienced major compositional shifts from exports of primary products - Essay Example Over the past half century the shift in the export strategies of the developing countries have been noticeable. The shift in the composition of exports is mainly attributed to the developments and modification of the world’s production procedures. The dependence on land and food of the developing countries were gradually replaced by the advent of new technologies that redefined the production of industries in the economy (Dijck and  Linnemann, 1987, p.39). Gradually, the trend of exports of the developing economies shifted from the primary products and agriculture based items to industrial goods produced with the use of advanced technologies. Historical developments: Compositional shift of exports in the developing countries A look at the historical developments of the developing countries reveals that the developing countries in the early part of the twentieth century consisting of China, India, etc. were dependent on land and agriculture. The land was the major source of i ncome and value of land was very high to the state. The transitional of the stages of the development of the economies and the compositional shift in the exports of the countries over the last fifty years have been described below. Initial phase of exports by developing countries The economies of the developing countries in the initial phase of the historical development were highly dependent on agriculture. It would be correct to mention that developing countries before half a century were agriculture based economies. The land was the major source of livelihood and the income of the state and the people were highly dependent on agricultural produce of the land. The developing nations at that point of time used to produce high quantities of rice, wheat, pulses and other agricultural crops. The enhanced activities on farming and the activities of farmers all over the nation formed a considerable part of the gross domestic product. In international trade, the countries had primary pro ducts and raw materials, agricultural products available in large quantities for export. The foreign exchange earnings occurred majorly through the exports of primary goods, raw materials and agricultural goods produced by the countries. The singly dominant item in the developing economies at early stages of history was food products. This trend of exports underwent a radical change in the compositional shift as the developing countries started to open up their economies in the age of liberalization. Changing trend of compositional exports of the developing countries The composition of exports of the developing countries underwent radical shift in the last half a century as the developing countries like India and China opened up their economies in the era of globalization. The advent of new technological developments brought about changes in the production process and the composition of the products produced by the economies. The developing countries in the last fifty years underwen t economic reforms and adopted policies on liberalization. This was done by attracting foreign investments in the developing countries. Investments on development of infrastructure for supporting the growth of industries were the focus areas in the later stages of historical develo