The economy of Turkmenistan continues to recover from the 2014 downturn in hydrocarbon prices, but remains "in the grip of its worst economic crisis since the immediate post-independence period, driven in part by low gas prices, the suspension of gas exports to Russia between 2016 and 2019...and poor harvests." Former President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow at a session of the Cabinet of Ministers on March 11, 2021, called the rate of GDP growth unsatisfactory. When discussing the 2021 government budget, he noted that 2021 would be "as difficult" a year as 2020 had been. According to the 2020 Investment Climate Statement of the US Department of State, Turkmenistan's economy depends heavily on the production and export of natural gas, oil, petrochemicals and, to a lesser degree, cotton, wheat, and textiles. The economy is still recovering from a deep recession that followed the late 2014 collapse in global energy prices. The current investment climate is considered high risk for US foreign direct investment. Turkmenistan is largely a desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated areas, and huge gas and oil resources. In terms of natural gas reserves, as of 2020 it is ranked 4th in the world. Turkmenistan's two largest agricultural crops are cotton, most of which is produced for export, and wheat, most of which is domestically consumed. Turkmenistan is among the top ten producers of cotton in the world. History From 1998 to 2005, Turkmenistan suffered from a lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports rose by an average of roughly 15% per year from 2003 to 2008, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. As in the Soviet era, central planning and state control pervade the system, and the Niyazov government (in power 1991–2006) consistently rejected market reform programs. The state subsidized a wide variety of commodities and services from the early 1990s to 2019. Following his election in 2007, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow unified the country's dual currency exchange rate, ordered the redenomination of the manat, reduced state subsidies for gasoline, and initiated development of a special tourism zone (Awaza) on the Caspian Sea. Since 2009, Turkmenistan has maintained a fixed exchange rate. In that year, the rate was set at US$1 to 2.85 manats. On January 1, 2015, the official exchange rate was changed to US$1 to 3.50 manats. However, the