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Latvia has been engaged in transforming the state-run economy, inherited from its years as a Soviet republic, into a market economy; reforms include the abolishing of price controls and the initiation of privatization. The country has encouraged foreign investment. Dairying and stock raising remain integral to the agricultural sector, which employs more than 15% of the labor force. Grain, sugar beets, potatoes, and vegetables are also important. The nation has valuable timber resources.
Latvia is an important industrial center, and this sector employs about 40% of the workforce. Its industries are extremely diversified and include the manufacture of motor vehicles, street and railroad cars, synthetic fibers, agricultural machinery, pharmaceuticals, electrical equipment, electronics, and textiles. Food and dairy processing, distilling, and shipbuilding are also significant, and tourism has developed as a source of foreign income. Trade is primarily with Russia and other former Soviet republics, as well as Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
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