Kaushik Kumar, Chairman, TCF Council, Fiji says, infrastructure upgrades such as airport renovations, large scale road works happening in the country and this is a positive sign. First, it provides a lot of encouragement for people looking at investing in Fiji. “As far as the TCF (textiles, clothing and footwear) sector is concerned, we can transport our produce around the country more easily and enhanced airport infrastructure means the possibility of more freight capacity to our main markets,” he says.

Fiji has also adopted a bold trade policy framework aimed at enhancing the reach and reputation of Fijian-made produce around the world, whilst the Ministry of Industry & Trade is doing much to promote the ‘Made in Fiji’ brands. Originally people just thought Fiji was a nice holiday destination. When they actually come out and see what Fiji produces, it is certainly an eye-opener.

In Fiji, the TCF industry started in the early 1980s with a handful of local players involved in exports. A tax-free scheme was introduced which encouraged foreign investors and local investors to invest in new factories and boost exports. One of the driving forces at that stage was Fiji’s market access into Australia under the SPARTECA agreement.

Kumar says they saw quite a big boom between the late 1980s right up to the mid-90s, when the garment industry went from a handful of operators to over 100 factories. “We grew from an employment base of 3,000 to 18,000 employees, with exports reaching $450 million,” he observed.

Over the last three years Fiji registered steady a growth in the TCF sector. Over the last five years, 3,000 additional jobs have been created in the TCF sector. The sector’s order books look pretty full and everyone seems to be very optimistic. 2016 does look pretty good. Moreover, there are a couple of factories that have big expansion plans in the near future.