The Asian Development Bank says the Fiji economy is expected to decline substantially in the medium term due to the decline in the manufacturing sector, especially in the sugar and garment industries.
The ADB's report for 2005 says that after recording growth of 3.8 per cent in 2004, the Fiji economy is expected to grow at less than half the rate achieved in the past three years.
The Asian Development Bank says the sugar industry is expected to contract further this year due to expiring land leases and the fall in the European Union's preferential sugar prices.
The ADB says the slow-down in growth and the imminent loss of jobs in the garment sector will cause the unemployment rate to increase and worsen rural and urban poverty.
