01Key Takeaways
- Tonga imported $326.48 million worth of goods in 2023, up 19.3% from $273.57 million in 2022, the highest point in this five-year window and the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Mineral fuels led every import category at 16.2% ($52.97 million), with machinery ranking a distant second at 9.1% ($29.58 million).
- New Zealand was Tonga's largest import partner, supplying 26.0% of imports, worth $84.76 million.
- The top three import partners together accounted for 56.4% of total import value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $272.3M | $217.8M | $271.0M | $273.6M | $326.5M |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand | $84.8M | 26.0% |
| 2 | Singapore | $53.8M | 16.5% |
| 3 | China | $45.7M | 14.0% |
| 4 | Fiji | $25.7M | 7.9% |
| 5 | Australia | $23.7M | 7.3% |
| 6 | United States | $20.2M | 6.2% |
| 7 | Japan | $16.2M | 5.0% |
| 8 | Indonesia | $8.6M | 2.6% |
| 9 | Tonga | $8.3M | 2.5% |
| 10 | North Korea | $6.9M | 2.1% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $53.0M | 16.2% |
| 2 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $29.6M | 9.1% |
| 3 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $25.0M | 7.7% |
| 4 | Meat and Edible Meat Offal | $23.5M | 7.2% |
| 5 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $18.2M | 5.6% |
| 6 | Beverages, Spirits and Vinegar | $13.7M | 4.2% |
| 7 | Articles of Iron or Steel | $12.2M | 3.7% |
| 8 | Glass and Glassware | $12.1M | 3.7% |
| 9 | Preparations of Cereals, Flour, Starch or Milk; Pastrycooks' Products | $11.8M | 3.6% |
| 10 | Wood and Articles of Wood; Wood Charcoal | $8.7M | 2.7% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Reached a Five-Year High in 2023, a Sharp Contrast to the Export Side
Tonga imported $326.48 million worth of goods in 2023, up 19.3% from $273.57 million in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years, from 2019 through 2023, tracking the import side of one of the smallest economies covered here.
Import value stood at $272.26 million in 2019. It fell to $217.83 million in 2020, the low point of this five-year window, before recovering to $270.97 million in 2021 and edging higher to $273.57 million in 2022. Import value then jumped to $326.48 million in 2023, the high point of this five-year window.
This dataset does not explain the 2020 dip or the growth that followed it. Import value in 2023 sits well above every other year in this five-year window. Growth of 19.3% in 2023 stands in sharp contrast to the export side of trade for this same country, which recorded its sharpest decline anywhere in this dataset that same year. Imports climbing to a five-year high while exports collapsed describes two very different stories playing out on opposite sides of this country's trade in the same year. A small economy like this one can see import and export figures move independently of each other, since each side reflects its own separate set of shipments and buyers rather than a single unified flow.
Fuel and Meat Anchor an Import List Typical of Small Pacific Economies
Mineral fuels led every import category in 2023, worth $52.97 million, or 16.2% of the total, by a clear margin the largest single category on this list. Fuel imports account for 16 to 24% of total imports across several Pacific island nations, including Tonga, a dependence closely matching this dataset's own figure for mineral fuels. Machinery and mechanical appliances ranked a distant second at 9.1%, worth $29.58 million.
Vehicles added 7.7%, worth $25.02 million, and meat and edible meat offal contributed 7.2%, worth $23.54 million, a category long associated with imported meat cuts across smaller Pacific island economies. Electrical machinery added 5.6%, worth $18.21 million. These first five categories together make up nearly half of total import value, with a much longer, thinner tail spread across the remaining five entries.
Beverages, spirits and vinegar contributed 4.2% ($13.70 million), and iron or steel articles added 3.7% ($12.20 million), a category likely tied to construction activity. Glass and glassware contributed a nearly identical 3.7% ($12.15 million), and preparations of cereals, flour and milk added 3.6% ($11.84 million). Wood and articles of wood closed out the top ten at 2.7%, worth $8.66 million, the smallest share among all ten categories listed here. Fuel, machinery and vehicles together account for roughly a third of total import value. A longer tail of food and manufactured goods fills out the rest of this list.
New Zealand Leads a Partner List That Includes an Unusual Self-Reported Entry
New Zealand was Tonga's largest import partner in 2023, taking 26.0% of imports, worth $84.76 million. Singapore ranked second at 16.5%, worth $53.76 million. China followed at 14.0%, worth $45.69 million. Together, these top three partners accounted for 56.4% of total import value, a substantially lower concentration than the extreme clustering seen on the export side of trade for this same country.
Fiji contributed 7.9% ($25.67 million), and Australia added 7.3% ($23.69 million). United States followed at 6.2% ($20.21 million), and Japan added 5.0% ($16.16 million). These four partners together add up to more than a quarter of total import value.
Indonesia contributed 2.6% ($8.62 million). A destination recorded in this dataset as Tonga itself accounted for 2.5%, worth $8.26 million, a statistical quirk that sometimes appears in mirror trade data for smaller re-export economies. North Korea closed out the top ten at 2.1%, worth $6.90 million, the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. Every partner outside the top three holds a share below 8%, a steep drop-off once the list moves past New Zealand, Singapore and China.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an import profile built around fuel, machinery and meat. That profile reached its highest point in this five-year window even as the export side of trade for this same country recorded its sharpest pullback, a striking divergence between the two sides of trade for a single small economy.