Boosting trade

September 16 will see the beginning of a new trade era with the opening of the Tonga/Fiji Trade and Tourism Fair in Suva, Fiji.

The trade fair is the result of two years of negotiation between the two countries, leading to the Tonga/Fiji bilateral trade agreement.

Trade between the two island nations is

not new: “Tonga supplied mercenarry wari ors to warring Fijian chiefs amd even through ancient rituals, such as reserving the daughter of the Tui Tonga for marriage to the Tui Lakeba as she was conisidered too sacred for marriage to any Tomgan. In return, Tonga obtained sandalwcood for scent and great double canoes as thie wood was not available in Tonga” (Siers 1990).

The trade fair is being organiised by Tonga Trade with assistance from the Fiji Trade and Investment Board and I Forum Secretariat.

Tonga Trade was officially inaugurated

on January 16 as a division of the Ministry of Labour, Commerce and Industries.

Tonga Trade was established to {promote and facilitate the export of Tongain prod ucts. The organisation is funded I by the government of Tonga and the: Asian Development Bank and has a staff of five, including two overseas advisers, Garth Atkinson and Nicholas Freeland.

Recent experience with exports of bananas, vegetables and squash led to the realisation that Tonga was in a very vulner able position as an exporter of agricultural products and subject to a boom-and-bust approach.

The principal goal of Tonga Trade is to identify markets which are appropriate to Tonga’s productive capacity and to devel op an environment which encourages pri vate-sector investment in export industries.

Its establishment is an important and critical step along the pathway towards trade independence and the ability of Tonga to shape its own economic destiny.

In the past, geographic isolation and weak market signals have been cited as the major reasons for Tonga’s inability to establish itself in markets and maintain market positions.

By providing up-to-date information which can be readily disseminated, Tonga Trade hopes to provide the private sector with a competitive advantage.

Tonga has an advantage over larger, more industrialised countries in that it is very easy and cost effective to spread information in Tonga.

Its size also means it is able to react more quickly to market changes than larg er.

The establishment of Tonga Trade is an important and critical step along the path way towards trade independence and the ability of Tonga to shape its own econom ic destiny. ■