The native commodities exported by the Comoros were coconuts, cattle and tortoiseshell. French settlers, French owned companies and wealthy Arab merchants established a plantation based economy that now uses about one-third of the land for export crops. After its annexation, the lands were used for plantation of ylang-ylang,vanilla, coffee cocoa,and sisal were introduced. Agreement was reached with France in 1973, for comoros to becoe independentin 1978.But July 1975, Ahmed Abdallahproclaimed the Independence of te state of Comoros and became its first president. 
