Currently, the crash in gold prices and declining world prices of cocoa and several other of our exports threaten to erode the economic gains made by several of our countries. As we endeavour to manage our fragile economies, we are exhorted by well-meaning friends in the wealthier nations to recognise the virtues of the free market. Corruption, we hear, is bad for business. We must be more transparent in making choices. These are all well and good.
Liberalization of markets is good.
But it can lead to the result that our rice farmers are unable to sell their produce since the urban shops are flooded with imported rice. When our garment factories struggle against the competition of imports, including even second-hand clothing and cannot purchase the cotton grown by our farmers, we are expected to extol the efficiency of the market. I admit that a certain amount of competition is beneficial and promotes attention to efficiency and quality. I have been told this story. An African country successfully revitalized its cotton production.