| |
|
|
| |
Home
>
World
> South America
> Bolivia
|
Business Profile
Economy: Bolivia has the second lowest per capita income in Latin America. Agriculture employs nearly half the working population although it suffers from relatively low productivity. The main cash crops are soya, sugar and coffee, while beef and hides from the extensive livestock-rearing industry are valuable export earners. The other key primary product is timber. Bolivia has developed a unique system of sustainable development which allows for commercial exploitation of high-quality tropical hardwoods without over-depleting the forests. There is also a substantial unregistered and illegal trade in coca, the plant source for cocaine, which provides a livelihood for many peasants (its economic value is thought to be around US$1 billion annually). The Government has officially co-operated with the USA in a major continent-wide campaign to eradicate it and has made some progress; however, this is meeting ever-stronger resistance from the farmers looking to protect their moderate incomes. Bolivia has large mineral deposits, especially of tin – of which it is one of the world’s leading producers – and also natural gas, petroleum, lead, antimony, tungsten, gold and silver. Oil and gas deposits serve to meet much of the country’s energy needs and are increasingly valuable export commodities. Reliance on primary products has made Bolivia vulnerable to fluctuations in world commodity prices, which were low throughout the 1990s. Having also accepted international demands around the same time to liberalise its economy and open it up to foreign competition, the Government has become frustrated by what it sees as a lack of ‘reciprocity’. Bolivia is a member of the Latin American Integration Association, the River Plate Basin Alliance and, most importantly, of the Andean Pact. The country’s largest trading partners are neighbouring Brazil, Argentina and Chile along with the USA followed by Japan and the EU countries.
Business: Suit or a shirt and tie should be worn. Appointments should be made in advance. Office hours: Mon-Fri 0830-1200 and 1430-1830, Sat 0900-1200 (some offices).
Commercial Information: The following organisation can offer advice: Cámara Nacional de Industrias, Edif. Cámara Nacional de Comercio, Piso 14, Avenida Mariscal Santa Cruz 1392, La Paz (tel: (2) 237 4476/7; fax: (2) 236 2766; e-mail: cni@mail.megalink.com; website: www.bolivia-industria.com) or Cámara Nacional de Comercio de La Paz, Avenida Mariscal Santa Cruz 1392, Edificio Cámara Nacional de Comercio, Piso 1, La Paz (tel: (2) 237 8606; fax: (2) 239 1004; e-mail: cnc@caoba.entelnet.bo; website: www.boliviacomercio.org.bo).
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
Terms and Conditions apply.
|
|
|
|
|
