FIJI businesses are looking beyond the Pacific as exporters chase bigger markets and new customers overseas.
This was among the findings of the recently released Pacific Islands Export Survey 2026 – facilitated by Pacific Trade Invest (PTI), the trade and investment promotion network of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.
According to the report, 32 per cent of the surveyed businesses are located in Fiji.
The report said 87 per cent of Pacific exporters were targeting new markets during the next three years, with each business looking at an average of 2.7 new markets.
“Pacific exporters continue to demonstrate strong confidence in future growth, with many actively pursuing new products, new markets and new ways of reaching customers,” the survey report stated.
It described the shift as a sign that Pacific businesses were reorienting decisively toward markets beyond the region.
“Around 48 per cent of exporters now generated revenue exclusively from outside the Pacific, compared with 28 per cent in 2024.”
It also found that Australia, the United States, New Zealand, China and Japan were the most popular targets for future expansion.
“Australia remained the biggest overseas market with 57 per cent of exporters generating revenue there, followed by New Zealand at 50 per cent and the United States at 33 per cent.
“Japan emerged as one of the strongest-growing markets, with the proportion of exporters selling there increasing from 9 per cent in 2024 to 15 per cent in 2026.”
The report said businesses generally looked to strengthen existing relationships rather than abandon familiar markets.
