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Ranked: The Countries Most Dependent on Agricultural Exports
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Between 2019 and 2021, agricultural products accounted for more than one-third of the total value of global commodity exports. This graphic ranks the most agriculturally-export-dependent countries in the world, using data from UN Trade & Development (UNCTAD).
For this graphic we have only included countries where agricultural products represent more than 75% of its total exports. Resource dependency can make a country vulnerable to economic shocks via price fluctuations.
Ranked: Countries that Rely Heavily on Agricultural Exports
In Micronesia, a staggering 98% of all its exports are agricultural, of which 89% are fish in various forms. In fact, five of the top 10 countries are small island nations in the Pacific. Four of them also have fish as their top agricultural export.
Below is a more extensive list showing countries whose agricultural products make up more than 60% of their total exports. Also listed: their most-valued agriculture export in 2022, sourced from the Observatory of Economic Complexity.
RankCountry% of Merchandise
Exports From
AgricultureTop Agricultural
Export (2022)
1 Micronesia98% Fish
2 Guinea-Bissau94% Cashew Nuts
3 Malawi93% Raw Tobacco
4 Solomon Islands89% Rough Wood
5 Maldives88% Fish
6 Vanuatu86% Fish
7 Kiribati84% Fish
8 Tonga82% Fish
9 Uruguay79% Bovine Meat
10 Ethiopia77% Coffee
11 New Zealand77% Milk
12 Argentina76% Soybean Meal
13 Gambia75% Groundnuts
14 Belize75% Sugar
15 Samoa69% Coconut Oil
16 Paraguay68% Soybeans
17 Côte d’Ivoire67% Cocoa Beans
18 Somalia67% Sheep & Goats
19 Afghanistan65% Raw Cotton
20 Syria63% Pure Olive Oil
21 Sudan62% Sesame Seeds
22 Benin61% Raw Cotton
23 Central African Republic60% Rough Wood
Maldives, in the Indian ocean, is also within the top 10. Its top agricultural export is also fish. Interestingly, the Observatory of Economic Complexity states “Planes, Helicopters, and Spacecraft” as Maldives’ top overall export in 2022 ($433M). However, it’s possible that this might be a case of re-exportation.
Aside from fish, various kinds of nuts and edible oils are also popular categories of agricultural exports.
Regionally, these agricultural-export-dependent countries are spread between Asia, Oceania, Africa, and South America. Europe and North America are not represented in this list.
There are also correlations between resource export dependency and economic maturity. The UN found that 67% of the world’s developing nations were resource-export-dependent in some way: between agriculture, energy, and mining.
The post Ranked: The Countries Most Dependent on Agricultural Exports appeared first on Visual Capitalist.