2 Jul 2014

ADB grant to identify Pacific trade constraints

3:46 pm on 2 July 2014

The Asian Development Bank is to provide 2 million US dollars to help identify and ease constraints on international trade in the Pacific.

The money is from Japan's Fund for Poverty Reduction.

It will allow a regional analysis of trade and transport linkages and provide insights on how the region can boost trade and access to international markets.

An ADB transport specialist, Sarosh Khan, says Pacific interregional and intraregional trade growth is held back by a variety of trade and transport constraints.

He says improving efficiency and reducing the cost of trade services and logistics can help the region perform closer to its economic potential.

Total Pacific trade between 2000 and 2012 grew from 6.4 billion US dollars to 25.4 billion due mainly to exports of palm oil, coffee, coconut and fish, and imports of electrical machinery, cars, equipment, petroleum, and food.

The Bank says over the period trade with Australia and New Zealand declined while there has been a significant growth in trade with Southeast Asia, China, and India.