Ritika Pratap 
[Source: Tourism Fiji/ Facebook]
The strong tourism performance has aided economic recovery in Fiji.
The Reserve Bank of Fiji in its latest economic review has stated that visitor arrivals rose annually by 61.4 percent to 689,142 up to September and were 2.2 percent higher than the equivalent 2019 period.
It says sectoral production, on the other hand, continues to be influenced by industry-specific challenges.
Cumulative to September, factory disruptions resulted in annual contractions in both cane harvested and sugar produced.
The RBF says other natural resources such as gold, mineral water, pine logs, woodchips, sawn timber and mahogany production were muted while electricity generation remained positive in line with economic activity in the same period.
The flow-on effects of the rebounding economy supported consumption activity in the review period.
The RBF says consumption indicators such as net Value Added Tax, new consumption lending and new vehicle registrations grew over the year.
Similarly, the RBF says that retail trade will grow by 12.2 percent this year and 9.4 percent in 2024.
Concurrently, sentiments relayed in the June 2023 Business Expectations Survey were generally positive with respondents anticipating an improvement in overall business conditions in the short to medium term.
The results indicate improved intentions to invest in plant & machinery and buildings over the next 12 months.
The annual headline inflation rate was 2.5 percent last month and is expected to rise in the coming months as the full impact of the increase in VAT and other taxes passes through to final prices.
