麻豆传媒

The COVID-19 pandemic is yet to directly hit the least developed countries (LDCs), although most are already experiencing severe economic pain amid shutdowns, falling commodity prices and declining exports. LDCs are, on average, highly dependent on commodities. Oil, minerals, food and other commodities account for more than 70 per cent of their merchandise exports. High dependence on commodities exports make most LDCs extremely vulnerable to global shocks, and many are bracing for a severe economic downturn this year. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will be equally devastating for LDCs that do not rely on commodities as a main source of foreign exchange. Only six LDCs—Bangladesh, Cambodia, Haiti, the Gambia, Nepal and Lesotho—receive more than 50 per cent of their export revenue from exporting manufactured goods (Figure 1). Manufacturing accounts for more than 95 per cent of Bangladesh’s exports, compared to an average of less than 30 per cent for all LDCs, and 75 per cent for the Asian tiger economies. These six non-commodity dependent LDCs, however, largely rely on low-end and mostly labour intensive manufacturing exports, compared to higher value added and skill-intensive exports from the Asian tiger economies.