FIJI businesses looking to increase their export earnings need to focus not only on finding new customers but also on improving what they offer.
The Pacific Islands Export Survey 2026 found exporters across the Pacific region were introducing a range of measures to increase orders, including developing new products and improving internal processes.
Fiji accounted for 32 per cent of the survey respondents, the largest national share, according to the report.
The report found 43 per cent of exporters had developed new products or services specifically for export markets during the previous 12 months.
Another 38 per cent had improved internal business processes, while 35 per cent had increased digital marketing or online promotion.
The report found mature exporters were taking a broader approach to growth, averaging 3.3 initiatives compared with 2.4 among newer exporters.
It noted that mature exporters, who relied more heavily on export revenue, were running a broader spread of growth initiatives than newer businesses.
“Agriculture businesses were concentrating on expanding production, while manufacturers were putting greater emphasis on new product development.”
The report found 54 per cent of agricultural exporters had focused on expanding production.
Tourism businesses were also taking several steps at the same time – averaging 3.8 growth initiatives, the highest of any sector.
Digital marketing and online promotion were the most common initiative among tourism businesses at 60 per cent.
Improving the customer experience was next at 55 per cent, followed by staff upskilling at 53 per cent.
The report described this as a shift toward people and product.
It found tourism operators were focusing “as much on what they offer as how they promote it”.
For Fiji businesses, the findings show that export growth is not only about finding another overseas market but improving products, training workers, and making business processes more efficient.
The survey suggested businesses that combined those measures could be better positioned to take advantage of growing demand in overseas markets.
