The Pittsburgh Press (December 8, 1942)
Background of news –
Africa’s resources
By editorial research reports
Invasion of French North Africa by U.S. and British forces has again focused attention on “the Dark Continent’s storehouse of raw materials.” Contrary to popular belief, Africa is not richly endowed with natural resources, nor is it an important contributor to the world’s production of wealth. Africa has only 4.5% of the world’s export trade; 4.8% of its import trade. On the other hand, the continent produces a large proportion of the world output of certain commodities – gold, diamonds, cobalt, chrome ore, vegetable oilseeds, cocoa, sisal – and important quantities of manganese, tin, copper and phosphates. Large mineral reserves are unexploited in certain areas; underexploited in other areas. Agriculture output lags far behind potential production. Industrial development is negligible except in the Union of South Africa.
The relative poverty of the Dark Continent results from a combination of factors. Large areas, especially the Sahara and tropical coastal regions, are not suitable for agriculture. Among the native population of Central Africa, there is a marked prevalence of malaria, sleeping sickness, venereal disease, and intestinal disorders. Large sections of the continent have shortage of manpower. With 23% of the world’s area, Africa has only 7% of the world’s population.
The colonial policies of European nations holding possessions in Africa have discouraged industrialization of the continent. With the exception of the tiny Republic of Liberia, European powers have partitioned and repartitioned the entire continent.
French North Africa – Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia – covers some 433,000 square miles. The area is normally of considerable economic importance to France; in 1938, it supplied over 14% of all French imports as compared with less than 13% furnished by the remainder of the French Empire. French North Africa produces over 30% of world output of natural phosphates, and 3% of the world’s iron ore. The area is usually self-sufficient in cereals, but numerous other foodstuffs and almost all manufactured goods have to be imported.
Dependable statistics on European imports from French North Africa since the outbreak of the war are not available. Dingle M. Foot, Parliamentary Secretary to the British Ministry of Economic Warfare, told the House of Commons on Nov. 17, however, that in the first seven months of 1942, the list of exports from “northwest Africa” to France and Italy included in tons: rubber (2,400), phosphates (1,600,000), other minerals (271,000), oilseeds and vegetable oils (157,000), wool (1,600), raw cotton (9,800), hides, skins, leather (2,000), and foodstuffs (850,000). The listing of rubber and cotton presumably means that goods originating in colonies outside French North Africa, but transshipped through that area into France, were included in Mr. Foot’s tabulation.
The principal value of the present occupation of French North Africa to the Allies lies in the strategic importance of the area as a base for future military operations against the continent of Europe. While Allied control of Morocco and Algeria represents a severe economic loss to the Axis, it is not yet clear that acquisition of these colonies by the United Nations means a corresponding economic gain to the Allies. French and Axis purchasing commissions had stripped the area of so large a part of its agricultural production that one of the first tasks undertaken by the United States after the occupation was to arrange Lend-Lease shipments of food for the native population.