afrol News, 2 May - Post-war Angola is seeing a sharp rise in exports, which reached a total value of US$ 10.5 billion in 2004. The country however is deepening its economic dependence on mineral resources, and almost all exports are generated by the oil and mining sectors. Other economic development is lagging behind.

According to the newest statistics released by the Angolan government, the country's exports in 2004 totalled US$ 10,530,764,911, with oil and oil derivatives accounting for 91.92 percent of the total. Petroleum and petroleum products had generated nearly US$ 9.7 billion in state revenues last year.

Diamonds also in 2004 were Angola's second largest export commodity, generating nearly US$ 785 million in revenue. This equals 7.45 percent of total export revenue. The oil and diamond sectors thus totally represented 99.37 percent of Angola's exports last year, highlighting the country's total dependence on these two natural resources.

Other exporting sectors also mainly are related to natural resources. Fish exports totalled almost US$ 12 million - or 0.11 percent of total exports. Further, non-ferrous scrap metal accounted for US$ 4.7 million or 0.05 percent of total exports.

According to the governmental Private Agency for Investment (ANIP), there were few other commodities being exported from Angola. Other "miscellaneous exports" including wood, cassava, and shellfish accounted for the balance of total exports. The export data did not include coffee exports, ANIP informs.

Angola's exports of oil and diamonds are mostly directed towards markets in the North, including the US, Europe and East Asia. The relatively limited exports of food and wood products, meanwhile, mostly go to Southern African neighbour countries.

Although Angola is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the post-war country yet has to establish a significant export to this region. Angola still suffers from a ruined infrastructure, but is currently investing large funds in the re-establishment of major trade and infrastructure links to neighbouring countries and markets.

Also, large potentially productive parts of the country were devastated by the long civil war, with millions of mines hindering even subsistence agriculture. The Angolan government has focused its first post-war reconstructions on the fast cash producers oil and mining, but reconstruction efforts are now also directed towards demining, infrastructure, agriculture and other industries.

By staff writer

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