andalsotolackofequipment intheChilean sectorl (e)Mataranil Bothroadandrailconnections existwiththisPeruvian port. Railaccessatpresent involves ashipping linkonLakeTiticaca between Guaqui and Puno,wherecargotransfers tothePeruvian railways. Theportof110,withroad access, islittleusedbecause ofregUlar interruptions duringtherainyseason. TheParaguay river,whichtouchow theBolivian frontler inthesouth-eastern corner ofthecountry atPuerto BUBCh,isapotentially important international routefor goodstransport. Thisroutewouldbeconsiderably cheaper thanthealternative by roadorrail.However, atpresent, thevolumeofBolivian traffic ulingtheriver issmall. I •••A/44/588 Enql1.h Paq.15 28.Th.bulkofParaquay'. for.iqn tradei.carried ov.rtheParane.ndP.raqu.y riv.r.totheRiod.1.Pl.tab••in.Th.rei••differ.nc. of1,630kilometr•• between Alunci6n .ndBueno.Air... Fromth.r.,ov.r50percentoftrader.ache. thirdcountri••,ther••tb.ingconfined tot~~tran.it countri••th.m••lv...Th. P.raquay, aft.r.ervinqa.botderlin. withBI.•i1inthenorth-•••t,aut••cro•• thecountry, dividinq itintotwo••par.te rc~ion., .erve••••border1in. with Argentina inthe.outh-w••t,thenm.rge.withtheP.raneatCorrient••onch. Arqentine bord.r. Th.Paraneriv.r.1.0.erve••••borderline withBr••iland Argentina inthe.~uth. Mo.toftheeconomic .ctiviti••,.ndth.refor. offor.iqn trade,areconcentr.ted inthelowerpartofthet.rritnry .a.toftheP.r.qu.y river. 2G.Whilethe.xi.t.nce ofthisriversystemisanundeniable .dv.nt.q., •numb.r ofproblem. ar••s.ociated withafullyben.ficial useofit.Averyirreqular seriesofshoals(normally t.kingpl.cebetween Nov.mb.r andFebru.ry, but sometimes evenatothertimesoftheyear)annu.lly hamperthen.viqation ofl.rq. oceanfreight.rs, andoftenlimitittosmallriv.rbo.ts. Theproblem of.hoa1s isparticularly acuteontheParaguay river,andespecially inthe.ection upto Asunci6n. Inperiod. ofparticularly low.bb,thedepthofwat.ris.slowa.four feet.Aroadrunninqparallel totheworstpoint.oflawebbha.b.enbuiltbut thedoubletrans-.hipm.nt involved obviou.ly m.k••itanun.at.i.factory solution. Beside.thi.problem, thelackof.d.quate niqhtsiqnal1in9 f.ciliti.s .longthe riverroutesoftenforc•••hippinq compani.s tooperat.onlyinthedaytim., with sub••quent10••••int.rm.oftime.ndre.ourc... Theonlyimport.nt portin Paraguay isAsunci6n, 1,630kilometr.s fromBu.no.Air••,w'~ichi.connect.d tothe Paraguay riverbywayofashortcanal. Th.bulkofexport. andimport. p••••• throughthisport. Animport.nt oartoftheproduct••xport.d -woed,qu.bracho extract, cottonandtobacco -reaCl.theportfromupstr.am in.mall.hipment. and fromherearetran.-10aded intoforeigntr.devessels. IV.GEOGRAPHICAL CONSTRAINTS ANDTHIIRIMPACT ONTRADE ANDGROWTHil A.Tradepatterns andtransport-relat.d problems 1.External tradestructure andperformance 30.Theexports ofland-lock.d dev.loping countries aremainlyprim.ry commoditi.s. Minerals, fu.lsandmetal'areimportant .xports forAfgh.nistan, Bolivia, Botswana, Niger,ZambiaandZimbabwe. Theoth.rland-locked d.veloping countries aredependent onarangeofagricultural commoditie., themo.timportant ofwhicharecoffee, cotton, tobacco, liveanimals, .ugar,mate,oil.e.ds, woud, hid.,andskins,teaandfreshorpr.served fruitsandvegetables. Export commodity concentration isveryhighinland-locked dev.loping count;ri.s. Oat.for 1984-1985 indicate thatover75percentoftot.lexportvaluewasearnedbyone commodity inBurundi, Niger,UgandaandZambi., bytwocommoditi ••inAfgh.ni.t.n, Botswana, Chad,ParaguaYI andbythreecommodities inBolivi. ~ndMalawi(se. appendix table2). 31.Exc.ptforthemajorexporters ofcopper, zinc,tinandoth.rnon-ferrous metals, whichhave.m.lting capacity, therei.1ittl.fir.t-st.ge proce••inqof /...A/44/588 Englhh Pagele ~xportcommodities, andthiscapability isdevelopinq veryslowly. Thi.lackof proce••ingi.ascribable largely toinefficiencies alongthetran.it corridors linking land-locked countries andtheirtransit neighbours. Onem~qhtexpect proces.ing beforeexporttobemoreprevalent inland-locked developing countries sinceitgenerally lower.thebulkandrai.e.thevalueofproduct.. However, processing alsomakesproduct. morefragile, moredifficult tohandleandmore subject topilferage. Hence,thereduction incost.througn processing, whichmay beregarded a.anincentive, maynotneces.arily ineffectaccelerate therateof proce••inginland-locked countries, .incetheunpredictability andpoorquality of thetransitfacilities andservices heightenl therilkof10lsanddamageof processed good.. Compari,on ofthevalueofproce••eda.oppo.ed torawform.of the.ameexported commodity, u8ingthe.ampleof13land-locked countri••forwhich dataareavailable, indicate thattheonlymainproces.ing chainaintheperiod 1984-1985 werehidesandskins,leather, freshveqetables andfre.hmeatlbuteven forthe.ecommodities, withtheexception offre,hvegetable., theahareofexport
**Analysis**
The text discusses the challenges faced by land-locked developing countries in terms of trade, transportation, and economic development. It highlights the importance of the Paraguay river as a potential trade route and the limitations of the current infrastructure. The text also touches on the issues of processing and exporting goods, particularly in the agricultural sector.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade, Transport and communication