ton, sugar cane and cassava. Its principal exports in 1992 were shrimps, prawns and lobster (49.8 per cent) and cashew nuts (12.5 per cent). From 1980 to 1991, GDP in the agricultural sector which employed 81.5 percent of the labor force in 1991 grew by an average of one and six tenths percent p.a. Industry, including mining, construction and power, declined by an average of three and six tenths p.a. between 1980 and 1991. Food processing accounted for 30.2 per cent of output in 1992, textiles and apparel 15.8 per cent and beverages and tobacco 11.6 (Europa Yearbook, 1994, p. 2077).
Politically, the country has been dominated by the Frelimo party, which had a Marxist-Leninist orientation until 1990. During the 1980s, Mozambique was riven by civil war with its more conservative internal opponents, the Relamo party, and found itself caught in the conflict between South Africa and its northern black-ruled neighbors. According to the Europa 1994 survey, economic development in the '80s was "severely hindered by the effects of the civil war, (in particular, the disruption of agriculture and the sabotage of power lines, a shortage of skilled workers and unfavourable weather conditions)" (p. 2078). Two of its leaders were assassinated. A peace accord was reached in March, 1992. With the assistance of United Nations peace-keeping forces, order was finally restored in the early '90s. In late 1994, elections were held which international observers reported were fairly honest. The newly re-aligned Frelimo party, has recently taken steps to stimulate private investment, diversify, relax price controls and has generally adhered to an economic recovery program which began in 1987 within a framework recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Mozambique's economic recovery has been largely financed by foreign aid which in 1994 provided approximately 50 per cent of the country's budget. According to the Economist Intelligen...