UN General Assembly
1977

182. The crucial weakness in the present mechanism of international trade which is of immediate interest to Thailand and other developing countries has been the instability of the prices of primary commodities. Price fluctuations militate against a stable rate of economic growth by their effects on export earnings. The importance of this problem cannot be overstated for most of us in the developing world. As an illustration, the 18 commodities initially identified at the fourth session of UNCTAD in Nairobi as being of export interest primarily to the developing countries11 account for about one third of the total export earnings of Thailand. Any adverse price fluctuation in these commodities would have unfavourable effects on a developing economy such as ours. It is for this reason that Thailand welcomes the modest achievement of the Paris Conference on International Economic Co-operation, resulting in concrete steps leading to the establishment of a common fund aimed at improving the structure of international commodity markets, which are essential to the long-term growth and development of the developing countries.