Overseas trade volume expanded rapidly in the mid-1990s, but the economic woes in Asia in the late 1990s caused the export market to contract significantly. The distribution of the Solomon Islands' trade continues to be limited by the huge distances to potential export markets. The Solomon Islands' major exports are timber (68%) and fish (14%). Other exports include palm oil (6.5%), oil seeds (4.3%), and cocoa (1.7%).
In 1996 the Solomon Islands' imports were distributed among the following categories:
Consumer goods | 13.4% |
Food | 13.7% |
Fuels | 24.7% |
Industrial supplies | 20.1% |
Machinery | 13.2% |
Transportation | 12.8% |
Other | 2.1% |
Principal trading partners in 1998 (in millions of US dollars) were as follows:
COUNTRY | EXPORTS | IMPORTS | BALANCE |
Japan | 55 | 9 | 46 |
Thailand | 39 | 3 | 36 |
United Kingdom | 13 | 2 | 11 |
Philippines | 11 | 2 | 9 |
Korea | 10 | 9 | 1 |
Germany | 9 | 1 | 8 |
Singapore | 6 | 12 | -6 |
China (inc. Hong Kong) | 6 | 5 | 1 |
Australia | 4 | 60 | -56 |
New Zealand | 1 | 7 | n.a. |
Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: