Fiji's Textile and Footwear Council hopes trade with Australia will increase to compensate for the expected loss in export dollars to the United States.
The Fiji Minister of Finance, Ratu Jone Kubualoa, says economic growth will decline from four percent this year, to one-point-five percent in 2005.
In the recent budget, Ratu Jone, says economic growth will decline from four percent this year, to one-point-five percent in 2005.
He says up to five-thousand jobs could be lost across the garment industry.
However, the Acting President of the Textile and Footwear Council of Fiji, Mark Halabe, says the ministers comments were mis-understood.
He says while the US agreement is ending, he's optimistic the Australian export market will absorb a large amount of the job losses.
Officials from Australia are will meet their Fiji counterparts in the next few weeks to discuss restructuring the current exporting agreement.
