p The Soviet Union accounts for some 40 per cent of the total CMEA trade turnover with Africa (see Table 8).
p
Up to 1960, when most African countries were still
colonies, the Soviet Union imported more from Africa than it
exported to it. This was because some commodities produced
in Africa, such as cocoa-beans, coffee and copper, were usu-
•
Table 8
Soviet-African Trade
(mln rubles)
Year
Export
Import
Turnover
Balance for USSR
1955
12.2
37.1
49.3
—24.9
1960
89.8
181.4
271.2
-91.6
1966
275.6
199.6
475.2
+76.0
1973
487.6
464.7
952.3
+22.0
1974
635.3
680.6
1,315.9
—45.3
1975
574.9
864.7
1,439.6
-289.8
1976
549.5
659.1
1,208.6
-109.6
* Source: Vneshnyaya iorgovlya SSSR (Foreign Trade of the USSR).
Statistical bulletins for tlie relevant years. Totals for Africa are those of the
turnover of all the countries given in the corresponding bulletin.
•
ally purchased from West European companies, whereas it
was simply impossible for the USSR to export to many
African countries because the colonial powers that
controlled their foreign trade prevented this.
p In the 1960s, when direct trade and economic relations were established between the USSR and most African nations, Soviet exports grew rapidly. A significant share of Soviet exports, above all deliveries of complete equipment for projects built in African countries with Soviet assistance, was provided on credit, so the total value of Soviet exports to Africa exceeded the value of its imports.
This ratio was maintained in the early 1970s. In subsequent years, however, certain new trends appeared. In 1973, for instance, the export figure grew by 80 per cent as compared with 1966, whereas the import indicator rose by 130 per cent over the same period. This was partially due to the shipment of commodities to pay back the USSR for 210 previous credits (from Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Ethiopia, Sudan, and some other countries), and also due to increased Soviet purchases of farm produce and manufactures from Africa. Imports were also influenced by changes in world prices for many articles. In 1974, 1975 and 1976 Soviet imports from Africa exceeded exports to it.
Notes