That dollar metric results from a 5.2% upturn from $1 billion five years earlier in 2018.
Year over year, Fijian exported products accelerated via a 31.2% uptick compared to $815.9 million during 2021.
Most Valuable Trade Partners for Fiji’s Exports
The latest available country-specific data shows that about two-thirds (67.1%) of products exported from Fiji were bought by importers in: United States of America (20.7% of Fiji’s global total), Australia (10.9%), Tonga (6.7%), New Zealand (6.3%), Samoa (3.3%), Japan (3.2%), Italy (3.1%), Vanuatu (3%), mainland China (2.9%), American Samoa (2.6%), Kiribati (2.3%) and Wallis and Futuna Islands (2.1%).
From a continental perspective, 54.1% of Fiji’s exports by value were delivered to Oceania led by Australia and Tonga countries while 24.8% were sold to importers in North America. Fiji shipped another 12.8% worth of goods to Asia.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in Europe (6.9%), Latin America (1.2%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and Africa (0.2%).
Given Fiji’s population of 910,000 people, its estimated $1.07 billion in 2022 exports translates to about $1,200 for every person living in Fiji. That dollar metric exceeds the average $900 one year earlier during 2021.
Fiji’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Fijian global shipments during 2022, at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Fiji.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$251.8 million (23.5% of total exports)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $170.6 million (15.9%)
- Fish: $90.7 million (8.5%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $73.3 million (6.8%)
- Gems, precious metals: $46.8 million (4.4%)
- Cereal/milk preparations: $43.3 million (4%)
- Wood: $43.3 million (4%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $25.9 million (2.4%)
- Meat/seafood preparations: $25.8 million (2.4%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $24.7 million (2.3%)
Fiji’s top 10 exports accounted for almost three-quarters (74.4%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Mineral fuels including oil represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 175.6% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales was sugar including sugar confectionery via a 66.3% increase.
Fiji’s shipments under the beverages, spirits and vinegar product category posted the third-fastest appreciation, up by 58%.
The leading decliner among Fiji’s top 10 export categories was wood, dragged down by a -25.5% year-over-year drop in international sales.
The above information is presented at the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
Drilling down into the more granular four-digit HTS codes, processed petroleum oils represent Fiji’s most valuable exported product at 23% of the country’s total. In second place were mineral or aerated waters (15.5%) trailed by whole frozen fish (7.4%), sugar (5.7%), unwrought gold (4.3%), bread and biscuits plus cakes and pastries (2.5%), fuel wood, wood chips and sawdust (2.1%), medicinal plants (1.8%), sawn wood (1.7%), then wheat or meslin flour (1.6%).
Products Generating Fiji’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Fijian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: US$142.5 million (Up by 50.5% since 2021)
- Fish: $66.8 million (Up by 33.4%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $54.4 million (Up by 64.1%)
- Gems, precious metals: $29.6 million (Down by -45.9%)
- Wood: $27.1 million (Down by -45.6%)
- Cereal/milk preparations: $25.7 million (Up by 3.3%)
- Meat/seafood preparations: $12.4 million (Up by 158.7%)
- Milling products, malt, starches: $11.4 million (Up by 37.2%)
- Oil seeds: $9.5 million (Up by 2.6%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $3.2 million (Down by -59.5%)
Fiji generated highly positive net exports in the international trade of waters including natural or artificial mineral waters plus aerated waters. In turn, these cashflows indicate Fiji’s strong competitive advantages under the beverages, spirits and vinegar category.
Products Causing Fiji’s Worst Trade Deficits
Fiji incurred an overall -$1.95 billion trade deficit for 2022, swelling by 49.5% from -$1.3 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2021.
Below are exports from Fiji that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Fiji’s goods trail Fijian importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$495.4 million (Up by 92.8% since 2021)
- Machinery including computers: -$240.4 million (Up by 59.6%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$166 million (Up by 43.9%)
- Vehicles: -$148.2 million (Up by 52.6%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$141 million (Up by 38%)
- Cereals: -$99.5 million (Up by 21.8%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$68.1 million (Up by 83.5%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: -$56.1 million (Up by 25.7%)
- Meat: -$51.8 million (Up by 53.5%)
- Paper, paper items: -$50.8 million (Up by 47.3%)
Fiji incurred highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the mineral fuels-related category, notably for refined petroleum oils and petroleum gases.
Fijian Export Companies
Not one Fijian corporation ranks on the Forbes Global 2000 list.
Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Fiji. Selected examples are shown below.
- Dominion Fashions Limited (clothing)
- Falani Marketing Fiji Ltd (agricultural produce, fish)
- Fiji Recyclers (recycled tires)
- Krishna Export Handicraft (wood handicraft)
- Nelesh Kamal Co (kava)
- Organic Earth Fiji (skin care products)
- Popular Furniture Limited (home furniture)
- Scud Timber (Fiji) Ltd (sandalwood)
In macroeconomic terms, Fiji’s total exported goods represent 8.7% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($12.4 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 8.7% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to 7.5% for 2021. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Fiji’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Fiji’s unemployment rate averaged 6.5% in 2022, down from an average 9% for 2021 per the International Monetary Fund.
Fiji’s capital city is Suva.
See also America’s Top Trading Partners, Australia’s Top Trading Partners, New Zealand’s Top Trading Partners and Tonga’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Australia-Oceania: Fiji. Accessed on June 3, 2023
FlagPictures.org, Flag of Fiji. Accessed on June 3, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 3, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on June 3, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 3, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 3, 2023
Wikipedia, Fiji. Accessed on June 3, 2023
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on June 3, 2023
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on June 3, 2023