Fiji Trade Facilitation Challenges for Women Traders and Freight Forwarders Survey findings and recommendations Fiji Key recommendations based on survey findings: Initial findings demonstrate an opportunity to improve the design of trade facilitation interventions to better Number of active cross-border trading address traders’ needs (women in particular), e.g. by: firms (2018): 4,702 (484 owned by women) Capital City: Suva Improving access to and Region: East Asia & Pacific the quality of information on border related processes Income category: Upper middle income 1 and procedures. Population (2018): 883,483 GDP (current US$ billions, 2018): 5.54 2 Est. GNI per capita female/men (2011): Strengthening the role $5,838/$12,923 3 of the NTFC. Labor force participation rate (% ages 15 and older) female/male: 40.8/75.4 Exports and imports (%of GDP): 78 Main exports: Strengthening formal sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish, molasses, mineral water and coconut oil 4 grievance procedures. Main imports: manufactured goods, machinery, petroleum products, food and chemicals Expanding the Authorized WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement Economic Operator scheme, ratification date: May 1, 2017 incl. to women traders. Promoting pre- declaration practices. Exploring reasons for detention and seizure of goods. 1 GNI per capita between $3,996 and $12,375. Strengthening the system for electronic payments. 2 World Development Indicators database. 3 Human Development Report, UNDP. 4 Import and export data taken from Investment Fiji. Reviewing opening hours of ports/border agencies. Table of contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Description of the sample and methodology 3 3 Summary of survey findings 5 General trader and freight forwarder findings 6 Trade faciliation-specific findings 8 Other findings 14 4 Recommendations based on survey responses 15 Annex 1 Methodology 19 D I S C LA I ME R All rights reserved. This volume is a product of the staff of the World Bank Group. The World Bank Group refers to the member institutions of the World Bank Group: The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development); International Finance Corporation (IFC); and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), which are separate and distinct legal entities each organized under its respective Articles of Agreement. We encourage use for educational and non-commercial purposes. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of the Directors or Executive Directors of the respective institutions of the World Bank Group or the governments they represent. The World Bank Group does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. PHOTO I N FO R MAT I O N All photos are © World Bank Group/Jason Chute. Cover photos: Port of Suva (top), Anabel Ali, Fiji Fish Marketing (left), Litia Marie Kirwin, Loving Islands, social enterprise (right). Employees at Ben’s Trading Limited, exporter of agricultural products. 1 Introduction This note presents the results of a survey undertaken in Fiji To help fill the data gap with an aim to better inform future from May to June 2019 with the intention to identify the trade policy design and implementation, the World Bank specific challenges men and women cross-border traders are Group (WBG) initiated research to identify and examine facing related to trade facilitation at the firm level.5 the cross-border trade challenges faced by both women and men, challenges that impede women more acutely than Research has shown that while women-owned Small and men, and challenges that impede solely women traders at the Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) represent about 31-38% firm level. of all SMEs in emerging markets, the average growth rates of these firms do not come close to matching that of their A survey designed to collect data on these challenges male counterparts.6 Women entrepreneurs also tend to is being rolled out in the Pacific. Countries in the Pacific operate with smaller sized businesses (about 32-39% make Islands region face unique development challenges: they up micro firms, 30-36% make up small firms, and 17-21% are physically detached from major markets, have small make up medium-sized firms).7 Moving goods across borders populations spread across many islands and time zones, implies challenges for traders, and research has also shown confront the worst impacts of climate change, and are some that only one in five exporting firms are led by women.8 What of the most vulnerable countries to natural disasters in challenges do women-led firms face? Do women-led firms the world.10 face more challenging roadblocks to cross-border trade than men, which may consequently prevent them from growing This research project is led by a WBG team and funded by the their businesses globally? Trade Facilitation Support Program. A private firm was select- ed through a competitive process to support the team with Generally, efforts to improve trade conditions, especially the implementation of the survey on the ground in Fiji. relating to women cross-border traders, have been progress- ing over the years. Yet, there is limited work focusing on trade The work undertaken in Fiji is intended to lay the foundation facilitation initiatives and trade competitiveness interventions for a larger rollout of the survey in the Pacific,11 followed by aimed at women firms who face trading barriers that are not other regions, which could serve to confirm trends in strictly linked to tariffs or policies. There is a global data gap challenges to trade between countries (“traders” is used on the nature of barriers that women traders face related to interchangeably with “firms” in this report but should be trade facilitation at the firm level.9 In fact, the problem is even understood to represent registered firms undertaking deeper rooted; there is a global vacuum of knowledge about cross-border trade and not individual, private traders). the exact proportion of cross-border traders that are women. No country, not even the gender equality champions in The team would like to recognize the Government of Fiji for Northern Europe, can easily confirm the number of women that their invaluable contribution to the project, including through undertake cross-border trade in their respective countries. the provision of trader data. Recognition also goes to the IFC and World Bank offices in Fiji for their support of this work. Designing interventions that are inclusive—benefiting women as well as men—is difficult without strong data on the gender of those who participate actively in cross-border trade. With- out this knowledge and that of the exact challenges faced by both genders, it is also hard to tell how much any subset of the economy any intervention would impact. 5 Trading refers to cross-border trade. Traders in this note refers to 7 Ibid. representatives of firms importing and/or exporting across borders. In this survey, the World Bank Enterprise Survey’s definition of firm 8 ITC, Unlocking Markets for Women in Trade, 2015 sized is used: micro (1-4 employees), small (5-19 employees), medium (20- 99 employees), and large (100 employees and above). A firm is “woman 9 Higgins, Gender Dimensions of Trade Facilitation and Logistics: A Guidance owned” if (1a) ≥ 51% of the shares are owned by a woman or (1b) ≥ 20% is Note. April 2012, (World Bank, 2012) owned by a woman; (2) it has ≥ 1 woman as CEO/COO/President/Vice President; and, (3) has ≥ 30% of the board of directors composed 10 World Bank, 2019 of women (where a board exists). “Managed” refers to the highest management individual in the firm. 11 Target countries for the project in the Pacific region are Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu. 6 IFC and GPFI, Strengthening Access to Finance for Women-Owned SMEs in Developing Countries, 2011 2 Central business district, Suva. 2 Description of the sample and methodology Efforts to identify the universe of female traders in Fiji preced- All 42 freight forwarders in Fiji were surveyed in the same time ed the survey. In 2018 there were 4,702 active traders in Fiji, of frame, using a simplified version of the trader questionnaire. which 484 were women and half of which participated in this survey.12, 13 A parallel survey of all 42 formally operating freight The survey was limited to identifying constraints that existing forwarders in Fiji was also undertaken.14 traders face. Therefore, it may suffer from a selection bias in that it did not explore obstacles to engaging in cross-border The WBG undertook Focus Group Discussions with both male trade among women firms who currently only trade domes- and female traders and government stakeholders in Suva tically (possibly as a result of barriers to cross-border trade). in February 2019. These helped to finalize the survey ques- In fact, the finding of low engagement of female firms in tionnaires and enabled a more qualitative discussion of the trading could be caused by constraints that prevent them challenges in conducting cross-border trade. The survey from trading across borders. Exploring the reasons of non- questionnaire focuses on main areas of the WTO Trade Facil- engagement in cross-border trade would require a deeper itation Agreement.15 It was administered by phone in English. assessment of why non-trading female firms do not trade, which goes beyond the scope of this survey and likely also A total of 529 women and men traders were interviewed in the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. Additional details of Fiji between May 20 and June 13, 2019. Following a quota the sampling strategy and survey methodology are provided sampling strategy, 279 men and 250 female traders working in Annex 1.) with different sized firms and sectors in Fiji were inter- viewed.16 Table 1 provides a breakdown of survey respond- Given that 79% of survey respondents exclusively import, the ents by gender, size of firms and sectors (HS sections). survey findings in Fiji do not distinguish between importers and exporters unless otherwise specified. This, however, may Table 1: Breakdown of trader survey respondents by be possible in other countries and could provide additional gender, size of firms and sectors (HS sections) insights once the survey is rolled out in other regions. Women Men Micro Small Medium Large Sub- Micro Small Medium Large Sub- HS Section* TOTAL (1-5) (6-19) (20-99) (100+) total (1-5) (6-19) (20-99) (100+) total 1-4 (agriculture) 5 7 11 5 28 4 9 4 10 27 55 5-10 (minerals) 14 13 3 2 32 2 18 16 11 47 79 11-12 (textile) 31 29 13 6 79 2 13 7 5 27 106 13-15 (stones) 9 4 7 2 22 1 9 10 8 28 50 16-21 (machinery) 23 28 28 10 89 18 51 62 19 150 239 Sub-total 82 81 62 25 250 27 100 99 53 279 529 * If the interviewee is an importer, then the HS code is based on the imported goods. If the interviewee is an exporter, then the HS code is based on the exported goods. 12 Out of the 4,700 active traders in 2018, there were 484 female registered including goods in transit. It also sets out measures for effective cooperation firms and 1,330 additional firms where women owned shares (with a total of between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation 1,814 firms). The percentage of shares by firm is not known. and customs compliance issues. 13 The survey results have been analysed and synthesized to identify key 16 The eligibility criteria for the survey included firms of any size engaged in takeaways. Survey participants are not identified in the report in order to cross-border trade (import and/or export), as well as whether the respondent preserve confidentiality. owns/manages the firm. State-owned enterprises were excluded. In addition to gender, quotas for sectors were set using the Harmonized Schedule as such: 14 The 42 freight forwarders are individuals representing the same, or differ- HS Sections 1-4 (animal, vegetable products, beverages, tobacco), HS sections ent, firms (including branches) providing freight forwarding services. 5-10 (minerals, chemicals, rubber, leather, wood, paper products), HS sections 11-12 (textile, footwear), HS sections 13-15 (stone, glass, precious stones, 15 The WTO TFA came into force on February 22, 2017, and contains metals, ) and HS sections 16-21 (machinery, transport equipment, medical provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, instruments, ammunitions, artwork). Annex 1 provides additional details on the including goods in transit. It also sets out measures for effective coopera- survey methodology and rollout. tion provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, 4 Port of Suva. 3 Summary of survey findings General trader The dominant export category for women traders is agricultural products followed by textile and footwear. and freight Men export mostly machinery, ammunitions and artwork, followed by mineral and agricultural products. Samples are spread across micro, small, medium and large firms in each forwarder findings commodity classification group. Figure 2. Main Commodities Exported by Gender Women owned firms and women freight forwarders Women appear to be underrepresented in Fiji. Out of the 4,702 42% 12% 24% 8% 14% trading firms in Fiji, only about 10% (484) are women owned, though an additional 1,330 firms have some degree of Men female ownership.17 Of the 42 freight forwarders in Fiji, 24% 25.4% 25.4% 6.3% 15.9% 27% (10) are women. About 90% of the traders are between 25 and 55 years old, HS Section 1-4 (agriculture) HS Section 5-10 (mineral) with the highest share of both men (45%) and women (49%) HS Section 11-12 (textile) HS Section 13-15 (stone) between 36 and 45 years old.18 All but two of the 529 trad- HS Section 16-21 (machinery) ers have undertaken a minimum of secondary school level education. More men than women traders have university Women traders in Fiji appear to trade less frequently degrees. University-level education is higher among traders than men. While 44% of women and 39% of men reportedly from larger firms. trade once every three months or less, 25% of women trade seasonally compared to 15% of men; and, only 13% of women The majority of women freight forwarders in Fiji are trade more than once a month compared to 27% of men. between 36-45 years old (60%), while half of the male freight forwarders are slightly older – between 46-55 years old (50%). Women traders reportedly spend fewer hours working More women freight forwarders than men have university- on their businesses than their male counterparts. 96% of level education. male traders are engaged full time in the occupation versus 88% of female traders. Only 3% of male traders and 11% of The main import commodity category for both female and female traders work part time. All freight forwarders work male traders are within HS Sections 16-21 (machinery and full time. artwork). A significant share of women also imports products within HS section 11-12 (textile and footwear). Figure 3. Number of Hours Traders Work in a Week 100% 96.4% Figure 1. Main Commodities Imported by Gender 90% 87.6% Women 80% 7.9% 12.3% 32.5% 8.8% 38.6% 70% Men 60% 8.6% 16.1% 10.1% 9.4% 55.8% 50% 40% HS Section 1-4 (agriculture) HS Section 5-10 (mineral) HS Section 11-12 (textile) HS Section 13-15 (stone) 30% HS Section 16-21 (machinery) 20% 11.2% 10% 2.9% 1.2% 0.4% 0% 0.4% 17 Exact number of shares owned by women is unknown. 0% Full time Part time Less than Seasonally (over 35 hours (20-35 hours per 20 hours per 18 According to the CIA World Factbook (2018), roughly 41% of the population in Fiji is between 25-54 years old. per week) week) week Women Men 6 Women traders spend more time than their male counterparts in taking care of children and elderly in their families. 17% of women traders spend more than 5 hours per day compared to only 2% of men spending the same amount time on family care obligations. 16% of women spend 3 hours per day compared to 6% of men. Almost 80% of men and 50% of women, however, do not spend any time taking care of family members. Figure 4. Time Spent on Family Care Obligations 100% 90% 79% 80% 70% 70% 66% 60% 50% 50% 40% 30% 28% 20% 17% 16% 12% 10% 10% 10% 10% 6% 6% 6% 5% 7% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% Yes, extensively Yes, significantly Yes, sometimes Yes, occasionally No, not at all Women Traders Men Traders Women FFs Men FFs Most traders in Fiji, regardless of gender, use trans- port operators. Over 95% of both men and women traders use transport operators whilst only 5% of women and 3% of men traders use their own transportation to move their goods. Almost 100% of both men and women traders re- portedly use freight forwarders. Most traders, regardless of gender, appear to be using freight forwarders to handle shipping, transport and paperwork; about half of women (49%) and 31% of men also use freight forwarders to handle warehousing. Root crops for export. 7 Trade facilitation Related survey findings: specific findings A significantly higher number of men traders (45%) compared to women traders (28%) find official regu- lations and procedures to be consistently implemented i. Port opening hours by border officials. Larger firms report that regulations are implemented consistently compared to small firms, Limited port opening hours by one or more border agency regardless of gender. Regardless of firm size, more women may restrict businesses’ ability to conduct trade and may traders state that they are not sure whether regulations have a severe impact on their cost of doing business. are implemented consistently compared to men traders. Related survey finding: The majority of men and women freight forwarders find that official regulations and procedures are imple- Most traders do not see border or port opening hours to mented consistently by border officials. be restrictive to their ability to do business (80% of men and 84% of women do not find hours restrictive). Between 16- Figure 6. Consistency in Implementation of 20% of both men and women traders do, however, find the Border Procedures opening hours to be restricting their ability to trade. Only 6% 100% 90% of male and no female freight forwarders find opening hours 90% to be restrictive. Anecdotally, a few respondents mentioned 80% that there are port congestion issues restricting trade. 70% Figure 5. Perception of Whether Border/Port Opening 59% 60% Hours are Restrictive to Trade 100% 100% 94% 50% 45% 90% 40% 84% 80% 28% 80% 30% 70% 20% 60% 10% 50% 0% Women Men Woman Men 40% traders traders FFs FFs 30% Women Traders Men Traders 20% Women FFs Men FFs 20% 16% 10% 6% iii. Time to release goods 0% 0% Yes No Faster and more predictable release processes enable the Women Traders Men Traders traders to better plan, manage and optimize supply chains. Women FFs Men FFs Unpredictable release times make it challenging for traders to participate in time-sensitive logistics chains, may increase ii. Consistency in implementation of border procedures trader inventory holdings or cause disruption in local supply, increase transport and logistic costs (e.g., warehousing, Consistent implementation of border procedures ensures labour, fuel, storage fees) and may increase the time for ex- predictability for traders in terms of cost and time involved in porters to receive payment. undertaking cross-border trade. Related survey finding: Women and men traders report almost identical patterns across sectors in terms of the time taken to 8 release imported goods. Most women (57%) and men (75%) Figure 7. Ease of Understanding Official Trade report that it takes up to three days to release imported goods Regulations and Procedures from Customs. 100% 90% Half of women freight forwarders and 32% of men report that it takes three days to have imported goods released. 80% 70% Women traders appear to have their export goods 60% 55% released somewhat sooner than male traders (64% of women traders compared to 23% of male traders reported 50% 42% that goods are released in one day or less).19 One exception is 40% HS16-21 (machinery, ammunitions, and artwork) where both 33% 33% 30% men and women report three days to release their goods. 24% 20% 12% More women freight forwarders (44%) than men (17%) 10% report that it takes three days to have exported goods released. About one-third of women freight forwarders says 0% Yes Sometimes No it takes less than half a day, while 50% of men say the same. Women Traders Men Traders There seems to be no correlation between the size of the freight forwarding firm and the time it takes to release goods from Customs, nor between the export product and the time Almost half of women traders that do not find informa- it takes for clearance. tion to be easily available are associated with micro firms and tend to not be a part of industry associations. Less iv. Access to and understanding of official border than 5% of women traders that don’t find information to be regulations and procedures easily available are from large firms. Overall, 70% of women and 84% of men freight forwarders, as well as 57% of women Difficulties in accessing and understanding information on and 72% of men traders, find information available online, official rules and regulations regarding border processes and signifying a gap between the women and male respondents procedures may make it difficult to voluntarily comply and act in terms of access to information online. as a barrier to entry for international trade. Government offices (not at the border) and the internet Related survey findings: (e.g., websites, trade portal) are the most used sources for traders to find additional details of announced chang- Women traders find it more difficult to understand es. Enquiry points at the border are rarely used (1% for both official regulations and procedures than men, regardless genders). 18% of men use trade/industry associations to of firm size. About 33% of the women find official regulations check details, while only 4% of women do. and procedures easy to understand, compared to 55% of male respondents. More women than men report that information Only about 10% of women and men freight forwarders on official regulations and procedures is not easily available respectively do not find information on official regula- (33% compared to 19% for men). Regardless of gender, a tions and procedures to be easily available. Both women larger proportion of the traders representing micro firms are and men freight forwarders hear about changes to official reporting that they do not find information easily available. regulation from similar sources, including government ga- The majority of both men and women that find official regu- zette/email (about 40%), trade/industry associations (about lations and procedures easy to understand have university- 38-40%), and officials at border (30% of women and 25% of level education. men). No freight forwarder reportedly uses enquiry points at the border to check for details on changes. 19 It should be noted that the number of female and male firms under each HS group was not large enough to determine statistical significance based on type of exported goods. 9 v. The National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) Figure 9. Membership in Industry/Trade Associations and membership in trade/industry associations 100% 90% 90% 84% National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFC) are important platforms for institutional coordination and stakeholders’ 80% consultation with balanced private and public sector partic- 70% ipation. NTFCs enable the planning and implementation of 60% successful trade facilitation reforms and can serve as an important entity for the government in increasing trans- 50% parency and information-sharing around trade. 40% 31% 30% Related survey findings: 20% An overwhelming majority of both men and wom- 10% 10% en traders are not aware of the existence of the Fiji NTFC (98% of women, 93% of men). In terms of freight forwarders, 0% Women Men Woman Men 30% of female and 63% of male freight forwarders report that traders traders FFs FFs they do not know about the NTFC. Only one trader who knows Women Traders Men Traders about the NTFC’s existence also knows whether the Commit- tee has any female members. Women FFs Men FFs Figure 8. Awareness of NTFC’s Existence vi. Consultation mechanisms 100% 98% 93% Involving the business community in regular consulta- 90% tions around proposed changes to official processes and 80% procedures increases the transparency of the changes 70% and increases the likelihood of readiness and compliance 63% 60% on implementation. 60% 50% Related survey findings: 40% 38% 30% Over 90% of women and almost 80% of men say they are 30% not, or do not know, if their business is regularly consulted 20% on changes to official trade processes and procedures. 7% The survey results show that 42% of female traders that are 10% 2% members of a trade/industry association are regularly con- 0% sulted (by any entity and not just the associations of which Yes No they are members), while only 3% of female non-member Women Traders Men Traders traders are regularly consulted. Similarly, men traders that are Women FFs Men FFs members of associations are regularly consulted more often than non-members. Only 31% of men and 10% of women are members of a trade or industry association. In contrast, 84% of men and Freight forwarders feel to a stronger degree than traders 90% of women freight forwarders are members of industry that they are regularly consulted on changes to processes associations. While private sector NTFC members can be and procedures. Industry associations are identified as the expected to share information to their respective industry main mechanism through which freight forwarders are con- groups, the 90% of women traders who are not members of sulted on changes to official trade processes and procedures. a trade or industry association would most likely miss out on accessing this information. 10 Figure 10. Lack of Regular Consultations Related survey finding: 100% 93% There are seven Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) 90% in Fiji; all are large, male-owned firms.21 Two AEO firms par- 80% 78% ticipated in the survey, yet 10% of the male respondents and 2% of the female responded affirmatively to being AEO cer- 70% tified (there could be some confusion with the Fiji Gold Card 60% scheme). Large firms may have an advantage over smaller 50% firms to becoming AEOs due to the technical and financial 38% requirements the certification requires. More than half of 40% both men and women traders do not know whether they are 30% AEO certified. 20% 20% viii. Pre-declaration of goods 10% 0% Pre-declaration of goods allows traders to notify border Women Men Woman Men authorities of future arrival of goods and enables traders to traders traders FFs FFs save time if done correctly. Women Traders Men Traders Women FFs Men FFs Related survey finding: Around 40% of men and women traders respectively Pre-declaration of goods is more frequent among male believe that the feedback provided through consult- traders of all firm sizes than among women traders. 64% ations is taken into consideration by the government. of women and 85% of men traders pre-declare shipments to About half of respondents, however, are not sure while just some varying degree (25% of the time, 50% of the time, or over 10% of men and women believe their feedback is not tak- 100% of the time). 27% of female small and micro firm do not en into consideration. pre-declare at all because of a perception that Customs does not allow it. 9% of women firms know they can pre-declare in The majority of freight forwarders believe their feed- principle but do not pre-declare. 40% of these respondents back is taken into consideration. More men (80%) com- claim to be missing the required documents to pre-declare, pared to women (63%), however, believe that feedback was and 60% reportedly do not see any benefits in pre-declaring. taken into consideration. There appears to be some correlation between the traders that do not pre-declare or presume they cannot pre-declare vii. Authorized Economic Operations and those that find official regulations difficult to understand. The Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) scheme is an in- ix. Electronic payments ternationally recognised accreditation that indicates that a company’s role in the supply chain is secure and reliable, and The ability to pay official fees electronically can release the that any Customs controls and procedures are efficient and trader from the logistic burden of making cash available and compliant. According to the Fiji Revenue and Customs Ser- ensuring the secure transport of the cash. Cash payments vice, benefits for AEO members include measures to expedite may provide an enabling environment for corruption, as they cargo release, reduce transit time and lower storage costs, require a face-to-face encounter between the trader/broker providing access to information of value to AEO participants, and Customs, making it difficult to differentiate between special measures relating to periods of trade disruption or el- cash payments for duty collection or cash payments for evated threat level and first consideration for participation in “facilitation fees.” any cargo processing programs.20 Related survey findings: Only 16% of men and 15% women traders in Fiji report 20 https://www.frcs.org.fj/news/2018-2/revenue-customs-launched-aeo- pilot-programme/ that fees can be paid electronically all the time. About one- third say fees can be paid electronically half the time and about 21 The pilot AEO program commenced on June 1, 2018, with an official launch another one-third of both men and women say they cannot of the full-fledged AEO program on January 26, 2019. 11 “Trade facilitation is important for female traders. Promoting gender equality is key for implementing reforms to increase private investment.” Mere Samisoni, Owner of Hot Bread Kitchen, https://www.facebook.com/hotbreadkitchenfiji/ Mere Samisoni and staff at Hot Bread Kitchen. 12 pay electronically. The most frequently used methods of pay- About half of both women and men freight forward- ment for both men and women traders are bank/telegraph ers reportedly have goods seized or detained 25% of the transfer and check/money order at the border. time. Half of women freight forwarders and 38% of men have never had goods seized or detained. Freight forwarders re- While 38% of women traders also reportedly pay fees porting seizures or detention cite Customs (60% of women by cash, only 13% of men do the same. Smaller firms tend to and 58% of men) and Quarantine (20% of women and 32% of pay by cash more often, while larger firms pay electronically, men) to be the agencies holding up their goods. by check or via banks/tele transfer. Figure 11. Method of Paying Official Fees for Border Processes and Procedures 100% 100% 90% 81% 80% 77% 70% 70% 60% 59% 60% 52% 50% 46% 41% 38% 40% 40% 31% 30% 20% 13% 9% 9% 10% 0% 0% 1% 1% 0% 0% Online Cash Check/money order Banks/telegraph Other (internet banking) (at border/port) (at border/port) transfer Women Traders Men Traders Women FFs Men FFs A larger share of men than women freight forwarders xi. Official grievance procedures pay fees electronically all the time. When adding the shares of respondents that pay electronically half the time and all The existence of official grievance procedures ensures that the time, the share by women and men freight forwarders traders have a mechanism through which they can appeal are relatively equal. Three male freight forwarders pay official against Customs or other border agencies’ decision. fees by cash at the border/port, while no women pay by cash. Freight forwarders most frequently use the same payment Related survey findings: methods as the traders. Almost half of all traders do not know if formal griev- Almost 100% of all traders and freight forwarders reportedly ance procedures exist; 17% of women and 20% of men receive receipts for all fees and charges that are paid. traders do not think they exist. About 9% of both men and women respectively know formal grievance procedures exist, x. Detention of goods but do not believe these procedures change anything. Related survey findings: While only 1% of traders believe the formal procedures result in changes, freight forwarders have slightly more While a significant majority of traders in Fiji reportedly faith in these procedures; 30% of women and 19% of men have never had their goods seized or detained (90% of freight forwarders believe they lead to change. women and 86% of men), about 10% of women and 13% of men traders have had goods seized or detained up to 25% of the time. 13 Figure 12. Traders’ and Freight Forwarders’ Awareness of the Existence of Official Grievance Procedures 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 46% 41% 42% 40% 30% 30% 30% 26% 27% 19% 20% 20% 22% 19% 20% 17% 9% 9% 10% 10% 10% 1% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Yes, and it leads Yes, but unofficial Yes, but nothing Yes, but I have No Not aware to reform methods are faster changes not used it Women Traders Men Traders Women FFs Men FFs Other findings Over 90% of both men and women respondents All the trader interviewees, regardless of gender, that (traders and freight forwarders) report that they have physically go to the borders feel safe in Fiji. The majority of never paid speed money/bribes in the last year to facili- freight forwarders going to the border also feel safe. There is tate processing of shipments. About 1% of traders and 3% reportedly very few concerns of intimidation, verbal or physi- of freight forwarders pay up to half the time or less. Less than cal harassment at the borders. 1% of both men and women traders respectively declined to answer this question.22 22 There was some reluctance to discussing this issue during the Focus Group Discussions undertaken by the WBG team in Suva. Port of Suva. 14 Anabel Ali, Fiji Fish Marketing 4 Recommendations based on survey responses The survey results demonstrate that there are opportunities traders, in particular, to access up-to-date information to improve private sector confidence in the government’s and build networks. An important and expected finding trade facilitation efforts. For example, improvements can be of the survey is that trade associations are male-dom- made to tackle the perceived lack of consistency in imple- inated. Having a greater representation of women in mentation of border process and procedures, the difficulty in these associations is ideal, however, given the fact that understanding and finding information on border processes there are more male traders than female traders, these and procedures, and the inadequate formal grievance pro- trade associations might always be male-dominated by cesses and consultation processes on changes that affect default. This could still raise barriers for women in terms traders and freight forwarders. of being influential or active in these trade associations. A follow-on recommendation to adding more women The following recommendations can help address the most members to trade/industry associations is the creation pressing issues identified from this survey: of women-only clubs or associations that complement their membership in these trade associations. 1. Improve access to and the quality of information on border related processes and procedures. The surveys (v) Make consultations processes more inclusive and highlight that access to information is a key obstacle to both regular by strategically targeting different sized firms men and women traders and, to some degree also, freight and sectors. It is critical that a wider set of traders, forwarders. It also shows that more women than men find including women, is reached through a variety of official rules and regulations difficult to understand. Several communication channels. actions can be taken to mitigate this problem: (vi) Demonstrate how the government takes feedback (i) Address the information asymmetry that women from the private sector into consideration by arranging face by providing select activities (e.g., workshops, meaningful two-way communication and disclosing consultations, training, publications, helplines) on minutes/comments from such interactions through official regulations that are convenient to attend and official sources. specifically targeted at smaller, women-led firms, both during regular work hours and online. The benefits of 2. Strengthen the role of the National Trade Facili- participating in such activities must be communicated tation Committee (NTFC) and traders’ knowledge of clearly as they are likely to compete with the other and participation in the Committee. A large majority of time commitments and responsibilities that traders traders and, to a less extent, freight forwarders are not aware might have. of the NTFC’s existence, resulting in a weaker Committee and a less inclusive platform for dialogue. Suggested actions by (ii) Information dissemination through a wider range the NTFC could include: of media could enhance the reach to women traders and freight forwarders even more. Increasing content (i) Implementation of a strategic communications cam- regarding changes to rules and regulations, as well as paign both to (i) highlight the role of the Committee the details of them, not only on the front page of the Fiji as an important national public-private platform for all Revenue & customs Service (FRCS) website, but also traders and (ii) formalize the role of the NTFC in helping on websites of other border agencies, could be benefi- to increase access to and the quality of information cial. Dissemination efforts should to the extent possible related to trade. also target the private sector beyond respective industry associations. (ii) In promoting the existence of the NTFC, it may be beneficial to promote more female representation in (iii) Ensure that the language in all publicly available the NTFC to reflect that women freight forwarders’ and material, including processes and procedures, in par- traders’ views are considered by the NTFC. ticular, are clearly written, in layman’s terms, and easy to understand. Dedicate an entity (e.g., communica- (iii) Consideration to include representatives of the tions team, NTFC Secretariat, etc.) to review the lan- Ministry for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation in guage before publishing. the NTFC to ensure that measures taken to facilitate trade are in line with Fiji’s commitment to gender (iv) Work with trade/industry associations to increase equality as mainstreamed in the National Development participation in these entities as a means for women Plan 2017-2036 and the Women’s Plan of Action 2010-2019. 16 (iv) Since the NTFC is expected to facilitate “stake- 6. Explore reasons for detention and seizure of goods. holders’ consultation with balanced private and public Roughly 10% of women and 13% of men traders have had sector participation,”23 increased dissemination efforts their goods seized or detained up to 25% of the time. Traders on the NTFC’s existence to the broader trade reporting seizures or detention cite Customs (50% of women, community, including women traders, by the gov- 71% of men) and Quarantine (46% of women,18% of men) to ernment could be beneficial to coordinate and gain be the agencies holding up their goods. Freight forwarders support for trade reforms. that have had their consignments detained or seized also cite Customs and Quarantine as the main reason for hold up. The 3. Strengthen formal grievance procedures. The survey government should explore why these two agencies hold up highlights that traders have a lack of knowledge of and goods and determine measures to address this if seizures are confidence in the existing formal grievance procedures. It is not valid. imperative that the government is responsive to the concerns of the private sector and make the procedures widely known 7. Strengthen the system for on-line payment and to all traders, including women traders in particular. encourage traders to pay on-line. Only 15% of men and women traders in Fiji report that fees can be paid online all 4. Promote pre-declaration practises. Given the relatively the time. Improving online payments will not just save time low percentage of traders, in particular women traders, that for the traders, it also allows officials at the border to focus either pre-declare or know whether they can pre-declare, more closely on enforcement issues, minimizing fraudulent it would be beneficial for the Government of Fiji to improve behaviour. Improving online payments would also be in line communication around pre-declaration practises – including with the WBG’s TFA gap assessment recommendations in Fiji. by making requirements clearer and information more accessible. 5. Expand the Authorized Economic Operator scheme, including to women traders. The government could en- hance communication about the program and AEO qualifi- cation requirements. In this, the government could consider outreach to women traders to present and gather their feed- back on the AEO criteria, and to identify barriers to participa- tion. Relevant economic operators and women, in particular, should be encouraged to join the scheme. 23 UNCTAD, Trade Facilitation Committees around The World. Accessed 26 September 2019. 17 Litia Marie Kirwin and staff at Loving Islands. 18 City of Suva. Annex 1 Methodology Questionnaire Sampling Strategy Feedback from Focus Group Discussions in Malawi, Zam- Quota sampling was used for the survey in Fiji, ensuring that a bia, Fiji and Vietnam with female and male traders, and variety of responses were collected across different firm sizes meetings with government stakeholders, civil society or- and industries for both female and male traders. ganizations and private sectors representatives helped the team in developing the survey questionnaire. The trad- The sampling criteria for the survey included firms of any er survey that was piloted in Fiji contains 56 questions, size engaged in cross-border trade (import and/or export) by and is largely focused on areas related to the WTO Trade Harmonized System (HS). The code list categories comprised Facilitation Agreement, including, but not limited to access of HS Sections: to information, electronic payments, seizure of goods, pre- declaration, Authorized Economic Operators and the National 1-4: animal, vegetable products, beverages, tobacco Trade Facilitation Committee. A simplified questionnaire (with 46 questions) is used for freight forwarders. 5-10: mineral, chemicals, rubber, leather, wood, paper products Master List 11-12: textile, footwear A master list of trading firms was created for the survey based on the complete list of active traders in 2018 that was 13-15: stone, glass, precious stones, metals provided by the Government of Fiji. Any individuals importing /exporting, NGOs and diplomats were removed from the 16-21: machinery, transport equipment, medical list. The list provided included details of products that the instruments, ammunitions, artwork, respective firms were trading (by the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) Code), address of firm Table 2 shows the target sampling quotas for traders that and names of the firms’ directors. was set based on the universe of traders in Fiji. The master list of traders contained a total of 4,700 firms of Table 2: Target sampling quota in Fiji which 484 firms were considered to be “female” based on official enterprise registration records provided by FRCS. Female Male Separately, there are 1,330 firms that have women as share- Quotas by Establishment Size holders (though the details/percentage of shares is unknown). Large (100 or more) 63 63 Medium (20-99) 63 63 All 42 formally operating freight forwarders in Fiji were inter- viewed.24 Of these, 32 were men and 10 were women rep- Small (5-19) 63 63 resentatives of firms. Data on traders and freight forwarders Micro (<5) 63 63 was provided by FRCS. Quotas by Industry HS Section 1-4 50 50 HS Section 5-10 50 50 HS Section 11-12 50 50 HS Section 13-15 50 50 HS Section 16-21 50 50 24 The 42 freight forwarders are located in Suva (22 firms), Nadi (12 firms), Lautoka (7 firms) as well as Rotuma (1 firm). Of the 42 freight forwarders, 12 of them are branch locations. In the freight forwarders survey each freight forwarders’ experience is treated as unique, and all 42 responses are included in the analysis. 20 The enumerators were given lists of firms separated by gender and called from the top of the list to find owners/ managers who were willing to participate in the survey. When rejected, enumerators moved to the next entry on their lists. In order to meet the quota, some large firms were intentionally targeted for interviews. A total of 2,170 firms were contacted by phone for interviews to fill the sampling quotas. Of them, 529 firms were success- fully interviewed (279 male and 250 female owned or managed firms). Interviews were conducted in English by telephone. There were five interview refusals and 1,636 wrong phone numbers, no call answers, or transfers that were unsuccessful. Table 1 provides a breakdown of trader inter- viewees by gender, size and HS codes of firm.25 All 42 freight forwarders in Fiji were contacted and inter- viewed. Table 3 presents the breakdown of the freight forwarders by gender, firm size and the main commodity group traded.26 Table 3: Breakdown of freight forwarder interviewees Women Men Section Micro Small Medium Large Sub- Micro Small Medium Large Sub- (import)* TOTAL (1-5) (6-19) (20-99) (100+) total (1-5) (6-19) (20-99) (100+) total 1-4 (agriculture) 0 0 1 0 1 1 2 2 1 6 7 5-10 (minerals) 0 4 0 1 5 2 4 5 2 13 18 11-12 (textile) 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 2 4 13-15 (stones) 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 3 16-21 (machinery) 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 5 6 N/A** 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 4 4 Sub-total 0 4 3 3 10 6 8 11 7 32 42 * Except for the transhippers, all firms are involved in import services but not necessarily export services. Thus, this breakdown of firms by HS Section groups is based only on the main commodity group each freight forwarder reports that he/she imports. **N/A denotes the firms that are only involved in transhipment. 25 Traders were asked to select only one main commodity group in which they import and/or export. The values in the table are derived by tallying the number of respondents that selected each of the five main commodity groups respectively. Because more traders import rather than export, the table reflects primarily the main commodity groups that respondents say they import. A small portion of the table reflects the main commodity groups selected by traders that say they only export. 26 There are four male firms that are engaged in transshipment only and not engaged in import or export related services. These firm responses are not included in the analysis of release times since transshipped goods generally do not exit ports or border posts. 21 Maria Moi, Ben’s Trading Limited, exporter of agricultural products. 22 Supported by: Wichtiger HINWEIS ! Innerhalb der Schutzzone (hellblauer Rahmen) darf kein anderes Element platziert werden! Ebenso darf der Abstand zu Format- resp. Papierrand die Schutzzone nicht verletzen! Hellblauen Rahmen der Schutzzone nie drucken! Siehe auch Handbuch „Corporate Design der Schweizerischen Bundesverwaltung“ Kapitel „Grundlagen“, 1.5 / Schutzzone www. cdbund.admin.ch