There are mixed results this year as far as the major sectors in the Fiji Economy are concerned with some industries performing well while others particularly the sugar industry, performing poorly.

The Reserve Bank of Fiji said provisional data shows that cumulative to June this year, visitor arrivals totaled 273160, which is an annual increase of 21.6 percent.

The RBF said this is the highest six monthly total recorded since 2003.

Tourism earnings totaled $199.2 million for the first quarter of this year, which is an annual growth of 27.2 percent.

The RBF said while the increase in tourism earnings may be attributed to greater spending by tourists on account of the devalued Fiji dollar, it is noted that the industry has operated on heavy discounting since 2007.

Gold production more than doubled to 40975 ounces up to August this year.

The RBF said increased capital investment has assisted this notable upturn and is expected to underpin higher output in the months ahead.

The Reserve Bank said higher international gold prices also continue to boost export performance in the sector.

The fish and timber sector also fared well with higher annual export receipts.

On the downside, cane and sugar production fell annually in the first three months of this year's crushing season by 0.4 percent and 3 percent respectively.

Frequent mill stoppages due to mechanical faults underpinned this poor output.



Story by: Vijay Narayan