A Wake-Up Call from the Statistics Department: Tonga’s 26-Year Economic Stagnation
It has been 26 years from 2000 – 2026 and still there is yet to be a Parliament or Prime Minister or Cabinet or any of our intellectuals that has ever been able to boost the economy of Tonga and to dismantle the financial oppression of the people of this country.
There is more food being imported from overseas countries than the products that are able to grow and market from Tonga to overseas.
In a report issued from the Statistics Department of Tonga in the first quarter of this year, appearing on this report are these figures:
- T$190.8 million – Food products imported to Tonga
- T$5.3 million – Food products exported Tonga.
- T$185.5 million – Trade Deficit.
In other words, Deficit vs Last Quarter down 12.2%, Deficit vs Last Year up 7.8%
- T$40.7 million – Mineral Products (Fuel) – making 21.3% of total imports.
- T$30.4 million – Food, Beverages, Tobacco – making 15.9% of total imports
Fuel plus Food together is over one third of everything Tonga imported. Currently, Asian nations – primarily Singapore, China and Japan, are the leading sources of these imported goods.
- 46.4% of Imports – Asia
- 43.1% of Imports – Oceania (New Zealand, Australia and Fiji). New Zealand still #1 single country with 25.1% of imports.
Exporting: Root crops exports including manioke, taro and ‘ufi, makes 40% of domestic exports. Kava Tonga makes 33.6% and Fish makes 17.6% These three products makes 91.2% of total domestic exports.
When we look at this very low and miserable situation that Tonga’s export was in the past, it appears that we are still in that very low situation. The question is, what have we learned from these figures?
