Somalia is a developing country with limited economic resources. Its economy has long been based on the herding of camels, cattle, goats, and sheep. During Somalia's colonial period, Italian settlers established banana plantations along the Shabeelle and Jubba rivers. Somalis continue to grow such crops as bananas, citrus fruit, and sugar cane. Other crops grown in the country include corn, cotton, and sorghum.
Fishing employs a small number of people in Somalia, mainly in the north.
Somalia has a few light industries, such as meat and fish processing, sugar refining, and cotton milling. Somalia has deposits of gypsum, iron ore, and uranium, but they have not been mined. Most exports go to Saudi Arabia. Imports, which come mainly from Italy and other industrialized countries, include food, petroleum, and textiles. Somalia has no railways.