Solomon Islands

Location : Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea

Capital : Honiara

Languages : Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English is official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population

 Area : 28,450 sq km

Land Use: arable land: 0.64%; permanent crops: 2%; other: 97.36% (2001)

Natural Resources : fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel

Population : 538,032 (July 2005 est.)

Labour force : 26,840 (1999) 

Labour force participation rate : 4.99% of population (1999)

International Organisation participation : ACP, ADB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, SPARTECA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

GDP per capita : U$1,700 (2002 est.)

GDP Real Growth Rate : 5.8% (2003 est.)

GDP sectoral composition : agriculture: 42%; industry: 11%; services: 47% (2000 est.)

Industries: fish (tuna), mining, timber 

Agriculture - products : cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish

Exports : U$74 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities : timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa

Exports - partners : China 27.8%, South Korea 17.1%, Thailand 15.7%, Japan 9.7%, Philippines 4.8% (2004)

Imports : U $67 million f.o.b. (2003)

Imports - commodities : food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals

Imports - partners : Australia 24.6%, Singapore 23.1%, New Zealand 7.7%, Fiji 4.8%, Papua New Guinea 4.7% (2004)

QUALITATIVE TRADE PROFILE  

In the Uruguay Round, the Solomon Islands bound its entire tariff. The ceiling bound rate was mainly 80%, with some important exceptions. Lower bound rates of mainly 5%, 10%, 15% or 20% apply to a small group of agricultural commodities. Applied rates are however significantly lower with the average applied tariff being 22.2% with the average tariff for agricultural goods being 34% and the average for non-agricultural goods being 20.5%.

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK 

Domestic and international trade policy formulation is the responsibility of the Ministry of Commerce. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the other hand is responsible for interaction with regional and international trade organizations and negotiating with governments on regional and international trading arrangements. Other ministries involved in the trade policy formulation process are the Prime Minister's Office; Finance; Agriculture and Fisheries; Forests, Environment and Conservation; Mines and Energy; and National Development Planning, which is responsible for development planning and aid‑coordination activities.

In the past, coordination of trade policies has been a problem: without a formal policy framework, it has been undertaken by the Commerce Ministry on an ad hoc basis through inter‑departmental consultations. This has often resulted in a less than coherent decision-making process, as different departments pursued separate policies. The Government interacts with the private sector mainly through regular consultations with the Chamber of Commerce. They meet regularly to discuss trade as well as economic policy issues, and the Chamber is represented on the Policy and Structural Reform Committee. The Government also has dialogue with private‑sector participants on major policy issues, such as the negotiations that led to the Solomon Islands' accession to the WTO.

TRADE AGREEMENTS

Bilateral

The Solomon Islands is in the process of negotiating a bilateral agreement with Fiji. It is a beneficiary of GSP schemes run by several industrialized economies.

Regional

The Solomon Islands is a member of the Pacific Islands Forum. It has also signed the Pacific Islands Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA), under which member countries agree to liberalize trade in goods. It also has duty-free access to the Australian and New Zealand markets under the South Pacific Agreement on Regional Trade and Economic Co-operation (SPARTECA). It is a member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) with Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu eliminate tariffs on trade between themselves. It is currently negotiating an Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU through the Pacific configuration.

Multilateral

The Solomon Islands is a member of the WTO and, with minor exceptions, the Solomon Islands accords MFN treatment to all trading partners. It has GATS commitments in 29 sectors.

NEED PRIORITIES

Priority areas for Solomon Islands have not yet been determined.

Source: Commonwealth Yearbook 2005, UNCTAD, World Fact Book, WTO Secretariat.