A SURVEY released early this month by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics indicated that the total sales recorded for the wholesale and retail trade sector for the March 2016 quarter amounted to $927.3 million.
The total sales are attributed as follows:
* Wholesale, retail trade of motor vehicles $97m;
* Wholesale trade except motor vehicles $432.1m; and
* Retail trade except motor vehicles $398.2m.
The survey covered registered businesses in the sector that accounted for about 80 per cent of total turnover in the business sector.
While the survey provided a short-term indicator of the sector’s performance, the bureau’s release said total had fallen by 2.8 per cent ($26.4m) compared with the December 2015 quarter, but it was up 4.2 per cent ($37.7m) against the same period last year.
Other highlights of the survey when compared with the December 2015 quarter include:
* Automotive fuel sales up 0.4 per cent ($1.3m);
* Food and non-alcoholic beverages, tobacco and alcoholic beverages down 6.6 per cent ($17.6m);
* Sale of motor vehicles up 6.1 per cent ($3.3m); and
* Sale of hardware, paint and glass up by 2 per cent ($1.4m).
However, total sales of food and non-alcoholic beverages, tobacco and alcoholic beverages and hardware, paint and glass improved by $10.6m and $20.8m respectively when compared with the same period last year.
