Developing nations' chemical exports surge

Surging exports will help the economies of developing countries grow faster than the economies of industrialized countries over the next 10 years, according to a recent World Bank study. But when it comes to chemicals, any future export "surge" from developing countries will be déjà vu all over again. The latest worldwide trade statistics compiled by the United Nations indicate that, for some time, the growth in developing countries' chemical exports has far outpaced that of industrialized countries. Between 1980 and 1991, the latest year for which complete trade data are available, developing country chemical exports sported an average annual growth rate of almost 13%, whereas chemical exports flowing out of developed countries increased only an average 6.9% per year. In fact, chemical exports from developing countries grew faster than those snipped out of developed countries in every single year during the 11-year period. Sometimes, the difference in growth rates was small; other times, it ...