Pacific island countries, the most dependent on agricultural exports

Agricultural products represented more than a third of the total value of global merchandise exports between 2019 and 2021, and the most dependent countries in the world in terms of profile exports are the island states in the Pacific Ocean, according to UN Trade data and Development (UNCTAD), taken over by visualcapitalist.com.

In the Federated States of Micronesia (an island country in the Pacific Ocean), 98% of all exports are agricultural, of which 89% are fish, in various forms, according to the cited source, who points out that resource dependence can make a country vulnerable to economic shocks , through price fluctuations.

Five of the top ten countries in the aforementioned ranking are small island states in the Pacific, and four of them have fish as their top agricultural export.

The Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean are in the Top 10, and their top agricultural export is fish. Apart from fish, different types of nuts and edible oils are also popular categories of agricultural exports from the analyzed countries.

Regionally, these countries dependent on agricultural exports are spread across Asia, Oceania, Africa and South America. Europe and North America are not represented in the UNCTAD ranking.

There are also correlations between resource export dependence and economic maturity. The UN found that 67% of the world's developing countries depend in a certain way on the export of resources: agriculture, energy and mining, according to the quoted source.

• Canada is expanding its trade presence in the Indo-Pacific region

Canada is targeting the Indo-Pacific region as a key area for expanding its international trade, including seafood exports, seafoodsource.com reports.

On February 21, 2024, the Canadian Minister of Agriculture, Lawrence MacAulay, officially opened the Canadian Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office (IPAAO) in Manila, Philippines, thus pursuing "a new chapter of Canada's engagement in the region".

At the time, MacAulay said: "We export almost half of what we produce in Canada, and global demand continues to grow. I have no doubt that this office will play a central role in growing export markets for our Canadian farmers and expanding collaboration and cooperation in this important region."

The Canadian official announced in December 2023 the appointment of Diedrah Kelly as the executive director of IPAAO, along with the allocation of 31.8 million Canadian dollars (23.4 billion US dollars, 21.7 billion euros) - the funding for the office.

In 2023, Canadian fish and seafood exports to the Indo-Pacific region reached a value of 2 billion Canadian dollars.

The Indo-Pacific region currently accounts for approximately 33% of the world's economic activity, and in 2023, Canada's agri-food exports to the region exceeded C$22.8 billion.