Fiji: Economy

Economy

Fiji's fertile soil yields sugarcane, coconuts, cassava, rice, sweet potatoes, bananas, pineapples, and lumber. Cattle, pigs, horses, and goats are raised. Sugar, whose processing accounts for a third of Fiji's industrial production, is the main export. The industry has suffered since the late 1990s because of low world prices, drought, and inefficiencies, and the government is seeking to diversify the island's commercial agriculture. Tourism and mining are important to the economy, as are remittances from Fijians working abroad. Sugar, clothing, gold, silver, timber, fish, molasses, copra, coconut oil, and farmed pearls are exported. Imports consist largely of manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, foodstuffs, and chemicals. Australia, Singapore, the United States, and New Zealand are the main trading partners.

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