A new Asian Development Bank, ADB, publication released yesterday has said that Solomon Islands and Fiji remain the economies most at risk.
The report says that most Pacific economies are continuing to weaken as they suffer the impacts of the Global Financial Crisis.The inaugural issue of the Pacific Economic Monitor is a quarterly review of the developments in Pacific Island economies.
The report says rapidly deteriorating economic conditions in Solomon Islands and expected contractions over 2009 in the Fiji Islands, Samoa, Palau and Tonga are highlighted in the first issue.
The Monitor uses data from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Asia to supplement data from the region and provide more up-to-date assessments and broader coverage of the Pacific economies.
The report shows a decline in overall tourism departures for the Pacific and the inflation-adjusted value of remittances.
The lower commodity prices have reduced export revenues and export volumes of some key commodities have also fallen.