The Fiji Retailers Association believes that the latest business survey by the Reserve Bank of Fiji, which indicates some improvements, may not reflect the situation on the ground.

Association President Himmat Lodhia said while things are still very slow for retailers around the country, they do expect economic activities to pick up going into the Christmas season.

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In its September Economic Review, the RBF said according to the results of the June Business Expectations Survey, more respondents expect business conditions to improve in the next 12 months. The bank said the inflation rate has also eased for two consecutive months. It said that apart from the lower price of transport items, the improved market produce continues to have an easing impact on prices.

Inflation stood at 5.1 percent in August compared to 6.4 percent registered in July. The bank also said that the year-end inflation may turn out to be lower than the current forecast of 7 percent. Whilst the trade gap has improved so far this year, the RBF said the exports sector has not recovered significantly and imports, while declining, remain more than double the value of exports.

The bank said that our reserves remain stable as at the end of August, the official foreign reserves level stood at 865.7 million dollars, sufficient to cover four months of goods imports.