Agricultural Exports Takes Off
October 2, 2020
Agricultural exports have taken off substantially despite all odds.
Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Reddy says they are getting the fundamentals right, incentivising the farmers and working closely with the exporters to raise exports.
Although COVID 19 has brought much vulnerability to the forefront, the pandemic has paved opportunities the nation need to capitalize on. The Ministry has seized this opportunity through implementation of Agriculture Initiatives which have contributed to achievement of specific economic indicators such as export.
The total Crop and Livestock Domestic export in the form of fresh chilled and value added recorded $121 million (FJD) in the first half of 2020 (Jan-June) which is an increase from $111 million (FJD) that was recorded in the same period of 2019. This is a 9% growth in export despite the COVID 19 pandemic.
The contribution of only fresh and chilled exports increased from 14% (4.9 million kg) in the first half of 2019 to 17% (5.7 million kg) in the same period of 2020. This supports the 15% growth in volume and 11% in value of export recorded in January to June 2020.
Major commodities that contributed to the increase in export volume are Kava, Taro, Tumeric, Ginger, Fruits, Eggs, Mixture of Spices, Yam, Pineapple and Other Root Crops. Major Export Destinations that recorded increase in volume of export as compared to same period in 2019 are New Zealand, United States of America, Australia, Hawaii and Pacific Island Countries.
Top 5 Domestic Export Commodity by Main Destination
|
Commodity |
2019 (Jan – June) |
2020 (Jan – June) |
Main Destination |
||
|
Volume (kg) |
Value (FJD’000) |
Volume (kg) |
Value (FJD’000) |
||
|
Kava |
150,148 |
15,192.8 |
219,737 |
20,612.5 |
USA |
|
Taro |
2,446,677 |
12,302.9 |
3,004,030 |
12,277.2 |
NZ |
|
Tumeric |
488,114 |
2,432.1 |
810,773 |
5,254.4 |
USA |
|
Mixtures of Spices |
309,589 |
2,070.2 |
312,089 |
2,314.9 |
Australia |
|
Ginger |
94,714 |
609.9 |
163,203 |
1,046.3 |
Australia |
Source: Fiji Agriculture & Rural Statistics/Fiji Bureau of Statistics
On this front, the sector could achieve an annual export figure of $60 million by end of 2020 and the Ministry hopes to increase this to a $100 million in two years’ time as alluded to by Hon. Dr Reddy at the Fiji Farmers Forum in Nadi recently.
The Ministry fully understood the impact of COVID 19 and the demand for agriculture as the backbone of Fiji’s economy and this has pushed the Ministry to another level to formulate plans and strategy that will not only sustain us through this pandemic but enable us to bounce back better.
-Ends-
