Results for Business

Aloma Johansson was elected as the new President of the Tonga Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (TCCI) this evening, at its Annual General Meeting in Nuku'alofa.

Tonga's sea cucumber stocks have been overfished in Tongatapu resulting in a depletion of nearly 50 percent over the past two years - especially of sea cucumber with a high commercial value, the Fisheries Department has revealed.

Tonga's growing reliance on imports to meet its protein needs, threatens the nation's food security, and this was a concern discussed at a regional FAO meeting in Vava'u last week.

PACIFIC governments need to put adequate priority into national budgets for the development of agriculture, said the FAO Director-General Mr Jacques Diouf, who opened the Ninth FAO South West Pacific Ministers of Agriculture Meeting in Vava'u on April 5.

Tonga's official Foreign Reserves held by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga in February was $158.8 million, the equivalent of 6.5 months of imports of goods.

A large decline in remittances to Tonga is slowing down the economy while the inflation rate is expected to rise continually over the next six months, causing a weak domestic economy, Tonga's Reserve Bank has reported.

In a world that has 1.6 billion people who are overweight, the biggest challenge to mobilizing action against hunger is that hunger is becoming invisible in places, "and in a world exploding with prosperity and possibility we have become morally bankrupt, we have lost the sense of compassion. . .," UN Messenger of Peace HRH Princess Haya Al Hussein said this weekend, appealing to leaders who can make a difference for the rural poor. - By Mary Lyn Fonua

Tonga's Minister for Labour, Commerce and Industries, Hon Lisiate 'Akolo was appointed by Trade Ministers from Pacific members countries of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific, ACP as their Spokesperson in their continuing negotiation, for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU).

A new Agro Building Complex and a renovated Tu'imatamoana Fish Market should be a booster for the enthusiasm of Tongan growers and fishermen to export more of their produces overseas, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Lord Vaea said at the opening of the complex on the seafront in Nuku'alofa on January 27.