The economic and social development of many developing countries is being held back by backward economies and social systems in which peasants and intermediate urban strata predominate. Almost all the developing countries suffer from large-scale hidden and partial unemployment exacerbated by an increase in population due to the decrease in child mortality. Their unequal trade situation stems from their dependence upon primary products (usually not more than three) for their export receipts. These commodities are often: in limited demand in the industrialized countries (for example: tea, coffee, sugar, cocoa, bananas); vulnerable to replacement by synthetic substitutes (jute, cotton, etc); or are experiencing shrinking demand with the evolution of new technologies that require smaller quantities of raw materials (as is the case with many metals). Prices cannot be raised as this simply hastens the use of replacement synthetics or alloys, nor can production be expanded as this rapidly depresses prices. Consequently, the primary commodities upon which most of the developing countries depend are subject to considerable short-term price fluctuation, rendering the foreign exchange receipts of the developing nations unstable and vulnerable. Development thus remains elusive.