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Institutional Strengthening of TongaTrade

Background

TongaTrade was inaugurated in January 1997 and has been established to facilitate and promote the export of Tongan products in overseas markets. TongaTrade is being jointly funded by the Government of Tonga and the Asian Development Bank during the initial establishment period of two years. The initiative to establish TongaTrade developed from the realisation that Tonga was in a very vulnerable position as an exporter of agricultural products and subject to a boom or bust approach. The principal goal of TongaTrade is to identify markets which are appropriate to Tonga's productive capacity and to develop an environment which encourages private sector investment in export industries. It is proposed that at least 50% of the annual funding for TongaTrade is provided by the private sector within two years after the start of the TA.

Objective

To promote the growth and competitiveness of Tonga's exports of goods and services, through the following activities:

• Help with the identification of market opportunities for Tonga
• Serve as the onestop trade information centre
• Collect and disseminate trade information materials
• Act as liaison between buyers and sellers
• Provide a showcase for Tongan products
• Organise trade missions and participate in overseas trade missions
• Arrange seminars and workshops for Tongan exporters
• Maintain an uptodate database of names and addresses of overseas contacts Assist Tongan producers and entrepreneurs with overseas market development activities

Trade Information System

The trade information system developed by MTL Consult, which relied heavily on WWW and Internet technologies, comprised the following components:

• Trade Contacts
  Company Information
  Directories
  
• Opportunities World Trade Organisation
  Buyers Demands
  [Sellers Offers]
  
• Market Information
  Market Prices
  Market Characteristics
  Distribution Channels
  Competitors
  Trade/Investment Regulations
  Quarantine/Labelling/Packaging
  Export Incentive Schemes/Preferential Trade Agreements
  
• Other Business Opportunities
  Joint Ventures
  Investment
  Cooperation
  
• Trade & Production Statistics
  Production
  Imports
  Exports
  
• Intl Physical Distribution
  Freight
  Transport
  

Further Information

For further information, please see the TongaTrade website (www.tongatrade.to).