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Eritrea's largely agricultural economy was devastated by its 30-year-long indepedence war with Ethiopia and hurt again by the strain of the 1998–2000 border war. Some 70% of the population is involved in farming and herding. The country's agricultural products include sorghum, wheat, corn, cotton, coffee, and tobacco. Cattle, sheep, goats, and camels are raised, and hides are produced. There is a fishing industry and some pearl fisheries remain in the Dahlak Archipelago. The country's natural resources include gold, copper, potash, zinc, iron, and salt, but they have not yet been exploited. Offshore oil exploration was begun in the mid-1990s. Eritrea has little manufacturing beyond food processing, textiles, and building materials. Many Eritreans work outside the country, and their remittances substantially augment the GDP. Imports (consumer goods, machinery, and petroleum products) greatly exceed the value of exports (livestock, sorghum, and textiles). The country's main trading partners are Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Italy.
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