SUVA (Pacnews) — Pacific island economies performed poorly in the last fiscal year, according to the Economic and Social Survey of the Asia and Pacific 2002.
Launching the survey report by U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Wednesday in Suva, former ESCAP chief Savenaca Siwatibau said the overall gross domestic product of developing countries in the Asia Pacific region declined by 3.9 percent.
He said that this was way “off the mark” from one per cent earlier predicted by ESCAP. The overall GDP for the Pacific currently stands at 6 percent, according to 2001 figures.
Although the fallout from the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the U.S. did not badly affect Pacific island countries, Siwatibau suggested that tourism was the main savior of the region, which was largely portrayed as a “safe” destination for tourists and travelers.
On a sub-regional division, Melanesian countries performed poorly due to political problems experienced in recent years, coupled with the rising inflationary rates. Otherwise inflation was “subdued” in other parts of the Pacific.
Law and order problems are a big issue in Melanesian countries—PNG, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji—and have contributed to the implosion in their economies in recent years, Siwatibau said.
