This is the fifth edition of this handbook, which presents statistical data concerning the foreign economic relations of the European member countries of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA): Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the USSR. It also includes information on Yugoslavia. The handbook provides facts and figures on international trade flows, and on turnover in selected trade commodities between the supranational trading groups such as OECD, EEC, EFTA, and CMEA, and between CMEA members. It also provides information on international indebtedness.
The reference commences with comprehensive indicators of CMEA countries' foreign trade; then presents data from official publications of the CMEA countries and Yugoslavia. (Bulgaria, the German Democratic Republic, Romania, and the USSR do not report their trade by commodity group; this information can be obtained to some extent from the other sorces listed in parts II and III.) Part III is based on Western statistical sources. It details East-West trade, trade of the industrialized West, and trade of eight individual industrialized countries with the individual COMECON countries, all broken fown by SITC commodity groups. Part III is based solely on UN statistics. The final part of the handbook is devoted to currency, balance of payments, and indebtedness. Some of the official exchange rate quotations and balance of payments data is from national publications of Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia; the remainder of the information consists of estimates by Western scholars and institutions. Much of the information presented here is not readily available, as many of the sources are published only in the languages of the COMECON countries. Combined with the data published by Western sources, this results in a well-rounded and up-to-date picture of current affairs. The register of soures lists 50 titles, including statistical yearbooks and periodicals from CMEA and Western countries and international organizations. A detailed list of tables and an alphabetical index will facilitate easy access to information. This guide will be an important reference for individuals in corporations and academia who are involved with international trade, particularly in the area of Eastern Europe.
