Some coffee is grown for export.
The country has considerable, though largely untapped, reserves of tin, lead and zinc, as well as iron ore, coal and timber. Economic reforms began in the early 1990s and included an extensive programme of privatisation. These initially attracted the support of the IMF but the government's failure to meet successive financial targets led to a withdrawal of the Fund's support in 1998. Compounded by the regional financial crisis, the economy was in serious difficulties by the beginning of 1999 with 100 per cent annual inflation, a collapsed currency value and a desperate shortage of foreign and domestic currency. Since then, a mild recovery has taken place but the economic prospects are still uncertain.