THE government of France is looking at improving its trade relations with Fiji.
And with only 340,000 euros ($F783,620) worth of goods imported from Fiji and 3million euros ($F6.91m) exported towards Fiji last year, there is still room for improvement.
Speaking to this newspaper, French Embassy in Fiji deputy head of mission Jules Irrmann said they imported mainly FIJI Water which was distributed by a lot of convenience stores all over France.
"Half of our exportation which is about 1million euros ($F2.30m) are from the industrial sector and perfumes amount to 500,000 euros ($F1.15m)," Mr Irrmann said.
He said France would like to export more food products to Fiji like French cheese, meat and delicacies in the future.
Mr Irrmann said despite their trade volume to Fiji being relatively low compared to Australia and New Zealand, he was adamant that they would receive a big boost.
He said with Fiji and France being tourism countries, the Fijian and French tourism agencies could work together to increase the tourism capacity.
"Both countries are good holiday destinations and tourism is an area that has a lot of potential," Mr Irrmann said.
Meanwhile, he commented on some French products in Fiji including wines he said were very expensive.
"I hope more French businessman would come to Fiji to improve the Fijian market," Mr Irrmann said.
He also highlighted the issue of high import taxes on French products, saying this could be a reason for France-made items being sold at very high prices.
Mr Irrmann said they were working closely on improving agricultural ties with Fiji and deploying French experts to assist in this area.
He also revealed French businesses such as TOTAL and the soon-to-open BRED Bank will pave the way for more developments.