Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says Fiji has sufficient fuel stocks for the coming weeks but will move to shield households and businesses from rising global prices, announcing a FJ$56 million (US$39.95 million) redeployment from the 2025–2026 budget to blunt the impact of the international fuel crisis.
In a statement Rabuka gave the most detailed public snapshot of the country’s fuel position to date: as of April 19, Fiji had about 45 million litres of fuel on land, with a further 22 million litres expected to arrive before the end of April — bringing total available supply for the month to roughly 67 million litres. With daily consumption around 2.5 million litres, Rabuka said stocks would normally draw down to about 40 million litres by month’s end, equivalent to roughly 29 percent of national storage capacity, as part of the routine supply cycle that clears tanks for incoming shipments.
Looking further ahead, fuel suppliers have committed to delivering around 118 million litres in May, which the prime minister said would lift national stocks back to more than 59 percent of storage capacity and remove any immediate concerns about shortages. “We are currently operating in Phase 1 — a normal supply situation, but under pressure from high global fuel prices,” Rabuka said, underlining that the problem confronting Fiji is one of cost rather than availability.
Rabuka blamed the recent price pressure on global market disruptions linked to the conflict in the Middle East and shipping tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, and stressed that April’s price rise (effective April 1) was determined by the independent Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission (FCCC), not by government policy. He warned consumers to expect another price increase in May as international costs and the US dollar exchange rate feed through into domestic pump prices.
The FJ$56 million package, approved by Cabinet on April 21, is being funded through reprioritisation of existing budget items rather than through new borrowing, Rabuka said. He framed the measures as immediate relief aimed at protecting livelihoods, maintaining essential services and supporting families, businesses and transport operators affected by higher fuel bills, but provided no detailed breakdown of how the funds will be spent.
The prime minister’s update adds concrete supply figures to earlier government reassurances in March, when officials warned that Fiji’s dependence on imports left domestic prices vulnerable to global volatility. With the committed May shipments, officials say supply security should be restored, but volatility in international markets means price pressures are likely to persist, and the FCCC’s monthly pricing decisions will remain the mechanism for translating those costs into local retail rates.