Forward linkages are those which arise when the local production of a staple export creates opportunities for other kinds of domestic production which utilize it as an input. For example, the development of forest resources for the export trade in raw timber (the timber staple) prepared the way for the development of a saw-milling (lumber) industry using the same basic resource inputs.
Backward linkages arise when the staple export industry generates a demand for inputs which local producers are able to satisfy. For example, development of the wheat staple created a demand for farm implements and machinery used as inputs in the staple industry.