350. vrith export earnings of African count.ries growing at a slon rate compared withhistorical rates and in relation to the growth of the export earnings of otherdeveloping countries and lrith the need for imports even greater, the Africancountries have bad to severely limit tbe amount of goods imported. This, in turn, t...severely constrained their rate ofdecade. Horrever, tbis left a huqeability to pay for them.A/40/5L9 English Page 179 development, particularly during the past trade gap between the need for imports and the 351. The poor export performance of the low-income African countries can beexplained mostl-y by the lov, efficiency of their industries and increasingconpetltion fron other developing countries, but also by the repession in theindustrial countries and the restrictions that the laeter imposed on thelabour -i ntensive exports of arr deveroping countrres. The decrine of trade i.n theterms of the loer-income African countries contributed to the ror,, export-basedability of those countries to import, From r.970 thtough rgg2, the terms of tradeof the low-income African countries, other than the oir exporters, deteriorated byover 13 per cent. 3. Development assistance and external debt 352. while foreign aid allowed African countries to maintain a rate of invesrmentbetween 16 and 17 per cent of thelr cDp after 1970, rrhen their savings ratedeclined erell below I0 per cent of cDp. the level of foreign aid has stagnated inreal terms over the pa6c decade- Foreign aid now accounts for 3.g per cent of theGDP of the low-income African countries and l3.r per cent of their investment. Therest of the i nvestment-sa vi ngs gap was closear by privace capital frons. rn ]-982,the low-income African countries received foreign aid equal to $r9 per capita ani atotal capital inflor.r, pubLic anal private, of $fi.O per capita.
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the economic situation of African countries, specifically the challenges they face in terms of trade, development, and external debt. It highlights the need for imports, the constraints on imports, and the impact of foreign aid and external debt on investment and savings.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade