WEST AFRICA NATIONS RECEIVE MOST EC EXPORT AID
Senegal, Ivory Coast and Ghana are the
biggest recipients among developing nations of a special
European Community (EC) aid program to compensate for lost
export earnings, EC figures published today showed.
    The EC has special trading and aid agreements with 66
countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. This
includes a program called STABEX under which it provides aid to
export-dependent countries if export earnings drop too much.
    Senegal received about 155 mln European Currency Units (176
mln dlrs) between 1975 and 1984 mainly to compensate for a fall
in its peanut export earnings.
    The Ivory Coast received 108 mln ECUs (123 mln dlrs) and
Ghana received 91 mln ECUs (104 mln dlrs) mostly to make up for
a drop in coffee and cocoa export earnings.
    Under the EC's STABEX aid program (export earnings
stabilisation system), the Community provides special financial
assistance to developing countries if export earnings in
certain raw materials fall below an established level.
    The EC provided about 1.06 billion ECUs (1.21 billion dlrs)
in STABEX aid from 1975 to 1984, including 273 mln ECUs (311
mln dlrs) for losses in peanut exports, 261 mln ECUs (298 mln
dlrs) for coffee and 150 mln ECUs (171 mln dlrs) for cocoa.
 Reuter
