The majority of African countries are boxed into a trading structure that subjects them to secular terms-of-trade losses and volatile foreign exchange earnings, according to a new UNCTAD Report, Economic Development in Africa: Trade Performance and Commodity Dependence. Consequentially, despite many years under structural adjustment programmes, much of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains commodity-dependent and has not been able to meet its poverty reduction goals.

This UNCTAD report calls for a three-pronged response to easing the short-run burden of commodity dependence and facilitating longer-run structural changes. It recommends combining measures to strengthen domestic institutional capacities with more balanced international trading arrangements and more generous and innovative international financing schemes.

In addition, the report appeals for a new international initiative on commodities, consonant with the development needs of African countries. This plan would include the creation of new markets through measures such as enhanced intra-African trade, which is one of the main objectives of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

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