Pacific businesses are adapting despite global uncertainty - survey

The Pacific's largest-ever export survey has recorded its biggest response in more than a decade.

The 2026 Pacific Islands Export Survey offers the clearest picture yet of how businesses across the region are adapting to an increasingly uncertain global economy.

The survey has received its highest level of participation since it began. Exporters from all 16 Pacific Islands Forum countries are taking part.

The full results will be released in late July but early findings suggest Pacific businesses are continuing to diversify into new markets and adopt digital technology even as access to finance becomes more difficult.

The survey comes as Pacific exporters face shifting United States trade policies, changing global supply chains and rapid technological change, all of which are reshaping global trade.

Glynis Miller, Acting General Manager at the Pacific Trade Invest (PTI), said the survey had become much more than a snapshot of business confidence.

"This survey is one of the clearest tools we have for understanding what Pacific businesses need to connect meaningfully with global markets, and for identifying where the region's business enabling environment requires strengthening," she said in a statement.

"The data doesn't just describe the private sector, it provides insights that can then direct where investment, policy reform and support are best targeted.

"That's particularly critical this year, given how quickly global conditions are shifting around our exporters.

PTI Acting General Manager Glynis Miller says the export survey provides critical insight into how Pacific businesses are adapting to global economic change. Photo/PTI

"We see this survey as core to PTI's role as an advocate for the Pacific private sector on the world stage, and we hope its findings translate directly into a stronger, more resilient operating environment for the businesses we serve," Miller said.

Tim Martin, PTI Australia's Trade Commissioner, said the early results show Pacific exporters are continuing to invest in growth despite the challenges.

"These results tell us that Pacific exporters are not waiting for conditions to improve," his statement read.

"They are diversifying their markets, embracing new technologies and finding ways to compete globally.

"The financing gap remains a serious concern, and one we intend to pursue with partners across the region. But the underlying confidence in this sector is real, and it is backed by the data," Martin said.

PTI Australia Trade Commissioner Tim Martin says Pacific exporters are expanding into new markets despite growing challenges in accessing finance. Photo/PTI

The early findings also show Pacific exporters are becoming increasingly outward-looking.

Almost half now sell exclusively outside the Pacific, up from 28 per cent two years ago, as businesses invest in meeting the standards needed to compete in larger overseas markets.

The survey found that 92 per cent of exporters are eligible to trade under regional free trade agreements but only 27 per cent currently use them, often because of the cost of meeting compliance requirements.

PTI said early results point to growing use of digital trade and emerging technologies while access to finance has become more constrained than at any point recorded by the survey.

Access to finance remains the biggest challenge identified by exporters. Seventy per cent now describe it as difficult, up from 55 per cent in 2020 and the highest level recorded since the survey began in 2014.

The 2026 Pacific Islands Export Survey shows rising Pacific business confidence alongside growing pressure from tightening global finance conditions. Photo/PTI

Martin said many businesses have outgrown microfinance but still struggle to qualify for traditional bank lending because they cannot meet collateral and documentation requirements.

He described this as the region's "missing middle".

For the first time, the 2026 survey will also produce separate reports for individual countries and industries, giving governments, exporters and investors a more detailed picture of conditions across the region.

The findings suggest Pacific businesses are becoming more competitive internationally just as it is becoming harder to secure the funding needed to grow.

As exporters face tightening credit conditions, financial regulators across the region are also stressing the need for stronger transparency in financial reporting.

Speaking at the close of the Commonwealth public debt management workshop in Suva last weekend, Ali Homelo, Chief Manager of Financial Markets at the Central Bank of Solomon Islands, said accurate and transparent financial reporting is key to building confidence across the financial system.

"It is a prerequisite for good governance and effective debt policy management," Homelo said.

The regional workshop, held from 22-27 June, brought together senior financial and debt management officials from small island developing states across Asia and the Pacific including Fiji, Maldives, Papua New Guinea, Sāmoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga.

Central Bank of Solomon Islands Chief Manager of Financial Markets Ali Homelo says transparent financial reporting is key to strengthening governance and confidence in the financial system. Photo/SIPA

Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Tonga will each receive dedicated country reports. There will also be a report covering the Micronesian regional bloc, along with industry reports on agriculture, manufacturing and tourism.

PTI said the expanded reporting reflects the growing differences between Pacific economies and sectors, giving governments, exporters and investors better information to support decisions, investment and market access.

The full Pacific Islands Export Survey 2026 series will be released in late July.