Fiji Imports More Than It Exports

With the strengthening of globalization, more countries are participating in international trade to reap good value and benefits from this. Importation and exportation of goods and services have been on the rise, while countries and continents continue to exchange what they have with what they don't have. Same thing in Fiji, there are sectors, which are not yet developed, so they have to import this from their neighboring countries.

Just like in most developing countries, international trade has posed some significant problems with the economy, and so is Fiji. Fiji imports more than it exports giving a negative value in the trade numbers of the country. It is also affecting the different sectors of their economy. Why? Because Fiji imports more products and consumer goods from other countries, as it cheaper to do so than produce it themselves; but their exports are not improving. This is creating a problem in the local economy, for example: if Fiji imports continuously from China and other countries for crops, vegetables, and other agricultural produce, then the Fijian farmers won't bother with their agricultural lands and goods anymore; when in fact, if they are assisted and trained on how to improve and cope with the technology and enhancement in agriculture, those products would even be bought at a much lower price than the already cheap imported goods. If one really looks at this trade scenario, it would be advantageous for Fiji if it imports these consumer goods for the meantime while it focuses on how to improve and better the agricultural systems and lands, so that once the development will be accomplished successfully, it can already yield a good harvest for the local economy, and by that time, Fiji imports from other countries would decline thus strengthening their trade surplus.

Like other countries, Fiji can never let go of its importation because there are always products that can be better made and produced in other countries, that even if Fiji will try its efforts on developing and enhancing their own systems, it will still be cheaper to purchase that good somewhere else. And vice versa, there are countries that will have to depend on Fiji exports to sustain them because those countries could not make those goods inexpensively. This is where the balance and benefit of trade truly happens, when those trading countries will get a good product at a good price.

Fiji will recover the trade deficits only when Fiji imports products and services that they cannot really make cheaply, and exports products and services that they have a competitive advantage with compared to other countries.