FAO.org

The Government of Fiji has identified action on nutrition and on diet-related Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) as a policy priority. The population of Fiji is experiencing a triple burden of malnutrition, due to the rapid dietary transition of the past 5 decades. Consumption of healthy traditional foods such as fish and seafood, staple root crops, coconuts and wild plants has decreased, while consumption of cereals and refined sugar has increased dramatically. 

A significant contributor to high salt, sugar and fat intakes are discretionary foods, such as confectionary, snacks and sweet beverages. These foods contribute an average of only 9 percent of daily food intake, but a much higher proportion of nutrients of concern: 16 percent of calories, 25 percent of fat and 20 percent of salt. As a result, reductions in consumption of these products can have a substantial effect on consumptions of nutrients associated with NCD risk. Many of these foods are relatively inexpensive for the significant contribution they make to intakes of energy and nutrients of concern, and thus appropriate targets of taxation. The analysis presented here indicates the application of significant excise taxes (20-50 percent) on discretionary foods not meeting nutrient profiling criteria.

This brief will provide information to establish an evidence base for the application of food and beverage taxes and complementary measures to encourage dietary substitution towards healthier, local food products in Fiji.