Figure 18-3 shows how the composition of merchandise exports has changed by region. The concern, once widely held, that developing nations might get stuck exporting primary products in return for imports of manufactured goods from developed countries, has limited validity today. Over the past three decades manufactures have replaced primary products as the main exports for three regions: East Asia, Latin America, and South Asia. These regions still export primary products, including natural gas from Indonesia, copper from Chile, and tea from Sri Lanka, but the export of manufactured goods now constitutes the majority.