SUVA, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Fijian economy is anticipated to grow by 1.7 percent in 2020, following an estimated 1 percent expansion in 2019.
According to the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF)'s January 2020 Economic Review on Tuesday, sectoral performances in Fiji remained generally mixed in 2019.
The sugar industry performed relatively well in 2019 as both cane and sugar production increased annually by 6.5 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively.
Visitor arrivals to the island nation rose by 2.8 percent in 2019, mostly driven by higher arrivals from the United States, New Zealand, Japan, Pacific island countries and other Asian countries.
However, the overall timber industry performed weakly despite the increase in mahogany production as pine wood supply, sawn timber and wood chip production declined in 2019.
In addition, worsening and poor quality ore reserves coupled with technical issues led to a 14.9-percent decline in gold production in 2019.
The RBF also confirmed that domestic demand remained subdued as suggested by partial indicators for consumption and investment activities.
The latest RBF Economic Review stated that the growth in net Value Added Tax collections remained relatively lower in 2019 compared to 2018.
There is a stalling of large construction projects and a decline in job advertisements in the country.
The RBF said new and second-hand vehicle registrations also fell in Fiji while commercial banks' new lending for investment purposes declined by 16.7 percent last year, driven by the contraction in lending to the real estate and the building and construction sectors.
The RBF also stated that construction activity remained weak as domestic cement sales fell by 6.2 percent due to the stalling of large construction projects and on-going transportation setbacks.
According to the RBF, labor market conditions softened in 2019 as indicated by the bank's Job Advertisements Survey.
