Impact of International Mineral Prices on Export Trade of PNG

Papua New Guinea is economy driven, largely by selected mineral exports because the country is endowed with rich mineral resources. It exports primary mineral products like gold, copper, and crude oil. This economic platform is owed largely to the dismal growth of the manufacturing sector. The growth in the value of merchandise exports was linked to the decline in the exchange rate of Papua New Guinea Kina (local currency) against foreign currencies of those countries to which the mineral resources were mostly exported, and also due to a significant increase in international prices of the mineral products that the country exports. Hence, it is suggested that the country should build its manufacturing sector to process the minerals and get the advantage of exporting value-added products, and the creation of employment to domestic human resources leading to the creation of ancillary and subsidiary industries within the country.