The Solomon Islands needs to take full advantage of the growing Asian market as it seeks to expand its economic base.
A recent report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has shown that there is rising demand in Asia for goods originating from the Pacific.
“There has been a huge expansion, especially in primary products, from US$2 Billion in 2000 to US$9 Billion in 2010. That is a nine fold increase, so a lot to be optimistic about,” the ADB said in its report.
“For a country such as the Solomon Islands there is certainly a need to prioritise sound policies and build institutional capacity to manage its resources and ensure sustainable use.”
The report also states that by 2030 half of the Worlds middle class will be in Asia.
"This provides huge opportunities, which could mean slowly switching once focus from primary products to promoting and producing high value goods.
“The Solomon Islands is largely untapped, there is a lot of potential looking ahead. There needs to be greater effort by the government to create an environment where outsiders are confident to invest and perhaps produce some of these high value products targeting the Asian market.”