UN General Assembly
1972

17. Exports of farm and agricultural products are and will continue to be very important in earning foreign exchange in Central America. Guatemala is convinced of the need to strengthen the international agreements on commodities, such as coffee or sugar, but we believe that for the least developed countries different criteria should be applied from those that are applied to the other developing countries which have reached a more advanced level of economic progress. In determining quotas, the index of industrial development must be taken into account, as well as dependence on the product in question, the nature and availability of natural resources and, in general, the degree of socio-economic development of the country. 18. One of the major obstacles we are confronting in the path towards development is the unjust, arbitrary and artificial payment of our labor in the international markets. To be able to move ahead it is necessary that there be established some machinery whereby we shall be able to obtain an equitable price for our commodities.