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Highlights
• Despite the rate of growth of inflation slowing down towards the end of 2022, prices kept rising during the first trimester of 2023, with an average inflation rate at 2% and an average food inflation rate at 5.2%.
• Commodity groups that contributed the most to the inflation rate in the first trimester 2023 are Transport (+10%) and Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+5%), followed by Clothing and Footwear (+4%), Restaurants and Hotels (+3.9%), and Health (+3%).
• The Fijian Dollar kept depreciating against the United States Dollar, with the period average exchange rate in April at 2.23 FJD per USD, a depreciation of the national currency by 5.2% compared to the same month in 2022.
• The exchange rate with the Australian Dollar and the New Zealand Dollar has been favourable, with the exchange rate of April at 1.49 FJD per AUD, and at 1.38 FJD per NZD, a decline by 3.6% in AUD value and by 2.3% in NZD value against FJD compared to the same month the previous year.
• Total annual value of exports increased by 29% in 2022, with exports to the United States increasing from 167 million USD in 2021 to 221 million USD in 2022, boosted by a favourable USD/FJD exchange rate. On the other hand, exports towards Australia and New Zealand diminished.
• 26% of the total imports in 2022 came from Singapore (777 million USD). The depreciation of the Fijian Dollar against the Singapore Dollar (-5% in 2022) made imported goods from Singapore more expensive, such as fuel, electronic equipment, food (vegetable, fruit, dairy products, eggs) and fertilizers, as reflected by the Consumer Price Index. The depreciation of the FJD against the SGD continues also in 2023, with the current average rate for the first half of the year being 2% lower compared to 2022.