6 as measured by annual changes in their shares in total imports of OECD countries, fell each year in the 1980s excopt in 1984.6 Their averaga annual export growth rate was 2.9 percent while the average for all OECD imports was 5.6 pement in 1981-89. As can be seen from Table 1, the _CaE-S_ share in total OECD imports fell from 1.1 percent in 1980 to 0.9 percent in 1989: _In_ 1989 the region's tolal xp"rts to the CECD stood at three quarters of their 1980 level.

Table : Shiare of CEE-5 in Totat lIports of OCE, by Major Pros.ct Categories, 1980-89

||1980|1981|1982|1983|1984|1985|1986|1987|1988|1989|190|1991|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Foods and Feeds<br>mlnerat Fuels<br>Ores & NonferrousMotals<br>Raw**Materials**|1.5<br>1.0<br> 1.4<br>**1.8**|1.3<br>0.8<br>1.2<br> <br>**1.7**|1.3<br>0.8<br> 1.3<br>;.7<br>|1.3<br>1.0<br>1.1<br>**1.7**|1.3<br>1.3<br>1.4<br> <br>1.7<br>|1.4<br>1.3<br>1.4<br>**1.8**|1.4<br>1.6<br>1.3<br> <br>**1.9**|1.4<br>1.6<br>1.3<br> <br>1.7|1.4<br>1.5<br>1.4<br>1.6<br>|1.6<br>1.3<br>1.2<br>1.4<br>|1.6<br>0.9<br>1.3<br>1.5<br>|1.6<br>0.8<br>i.7<br>1.5<br>|
|Manufactures|**1.1**|<br>**1.0**|0.9|**0.8**|0.8|**0.8**|**0.7**|<br>**0.7**|<br>0.7|0.7|0.8|0.9|
|**Total lports**|**1.15**|**0.99**|**0.95**|**0.95**|**1.02**|**0.98**|**0.95**|0.94|**0.90**|**0.88**|**0.91**|**1.8c**|

Source: Derived from the United Nations CONTRADE data base.

The shares of Bulgaria, the FCSK and Poland in total OECD imports reached their peak in 190, and Roma¢ peak was in 1984 (at the height of Ceaucescu's policy of paying off the external debt, which eventually destroyed the Romanian economy). lungary, which revived its reform effort afterjoining the 12u and the World Bank in 1982, failed to noticeably improve its competitve position between 1980 and 1989. The two Balkan countries experienced the largest deterioration in export performance in the 1980s: in 1989 Bulgaria's share stood at 57.3 percent and Romania's at 58.8 percent of their respective peak performance years. A smaller loss of OECD market share was experienced by the FCSK, whose share in 1939 was 80.5 percent of its 1980 level, and Poland, whose 1989 share was 69.6 percent of its 1980 level.' _The_ second disturbing trend for the CEE-5 economies was the growing marginalization of CEE-5 suppliers in OECD markets in the 1980s. This was manifest not only in falling shares in OECD imports but also in large annual fluctuations in their exports, revealing their high vulnerability to swings in OECD business cycles, especially during periods of recession. The cyclical contraction in OECD import demand for CEE-5 products tended to be larger than for exports from other countries with two notable exceptions: ores and nonferrous metals and mineral fuels. The considerable annr - fluctuations in CEE-5 exports to the OECD in the 1980s also testified to their lack of long-term commercial contact. The range of variation was smaUler for 6 This temporary improvement was mainly due to a one-time increase in Romanian exports across aU major product categories. However, subsequent years witnessed a dramatic contraction in Romanan exports.

7 Some countries fared slightly better in EC markets: the decline in the EC import share of CzechoSlovakia, Poland and Romania was lower than for other OECD markets.