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The Economic Activity of Solomon Islands

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The economy of Solomon Islands is based on agriculture and the fishing and lumbering industries. Until 1998, timber was the nation’s main export but because of continuous cutting of trees, the forests now face the risk of over-exploitation. Adding to this sad state of the forests is the ethnic violence in 2000 that not only made timber exports to fall but also stopped the exports of gold and palm oil, a major agricultural product. Aside from palm oil, other agricultural products are copra, cocoa, palm kernels, yarns, taro, bananas, and pineapple, with the last four products considered as subsistence crops. For the fishing industry, the country used to have a canning operation jointly run by the government and the Japanese firm Taiyo Ltd., but this was also shut down by the 2000 ethnic violence. What remain are inland fisheries which, although relatively small, largely provide for domestic consumption or for export, that is, if these are properly supported and sustained. There are also small companies that produce goods for local consumption and that somehow help the national economy stand on its feet. These are the firms for tobacco products, biscuits, baskets and mats, rattan furniture, boats for sea transport, fiberglass products, and concrete blocks.

Although the country had already been into the export of gold, this is still among the rich mineral resources of lead, zinc and nickel that have remained undeveloped. The island nation is itself ranked as the “least developed” because of its small population, susceptibility to natural disasters, and its relative isolation from major centers of commerce, among others.