Fiji could miss a few opportunities for economic progress in the upcoming National Budget, a leading business consultant and economist pointed out yesterday.

Nouzab Fareed, a Master in International Economics from the University of Colombo, provided medium-term recommendations which he believed were ‘too late’ for the National Budget.

He said agriculture, fisheries, information technology and business process outsource, and manufacturing and export were sectors that could bring in new money for the Government.

Fiji’s limited export portfolio – water, garments, agriculture – and backbone economies, tourism and remittances, signalled the need for a more diversified economic income stream, Mr Fareed said.

Agriculture And Agri-business 

Adequate incentives must be designed to entice international companies to expand to Fiji, Mr Fareed said.

“The country can focus on producing high-value crops, organic products, and specialty goods for export,” he said.

Investments in agribusinesses, such as food processing and packaging, could add value to agricultural products, and create employment opportunities, he said.

“Fiji needs not start this process from scratch, but adopt a different strategy to invite large agriculture companies from Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, even India, to invest in local companies, and start operation with objective of local consumption and export,” Mr Fareed said.

Strengthening the fisheries and aquaculture industry can provide a boost to the economy.

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Story by: frederica.elbourne@fijisun.com.fj