A report by the International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC) found that over the last five years there have been a growing number of electrical appliances originating from Asia, particularly China and Singapore, in most of the 17 Pacific Island countries studied. In some product categories, the large majority of products available in the Pacific are manufactured in China, particularly lighting appliances.

The Technical Analysis of Appliance Markets, commissioned by REEEP with funding from AusAID, supports the Pacific Appliance Labelling Standards (PALS) Programme being led by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).  The aim of the study was to capture baseline data for major appliance and lighting products and markets in 17 Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), to set a quantitative basis for on-going measurement and to inform government decision-making on the most suitable S&L strategy for each country.

The research process highlighted a general lack of statistical data in the Pacific region, largely due to the fact that the majority of PICTs have limited resources and capacity to compile import data on any kind of product. For instance, data on number of units imported - as distinct from the value - was only available in 9 of the 17 PICTs covered. None of the PICTs had import data classified according to market channels and country of manufacture.

According to IIEC, using import units is a more accurate way of determining the market share of each country, as the import value share is influenced by exchange rates and equipment costs.  This means for example that the average electrical equipment import value from Australia and New Zealand would be typically higher than that for China.

Furthermore, the customs departments in each PICT are primarily focused on determining the value of the imported electrical appliances for taxation/duty purposes. Therefore, recording the actual number of units is not usually a priority; particularly not with small electrical appliances such as incandescent or fluorescent bulbs.

The analysis highlighted that each PICT customs department/office has a different interpretation of the international harmonized systems codes for electrical appliances. In the case of televisions, only 5 out of the 17 PICTs had import statistics under the international harmonized system code selected for this study. In addition, some customs data didn’t differentiate between linear and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).  A single harmonized system code for CFLs in the Pacific region would enable a clear evaluation of the market uptake of CFLs in the future. According to report co-author, Mr David Morgado, “both of these examples demonstrate that it might be beneficial to have a common harmonized system coding for electrical appliances in the Pacific.

The report and research were conducted by Mr Sommai Phon-Amnuaisuk and Mr David Morgado of IIEC. The summary report and the report for each of the 17 countries can be downloaded below. For further questions on this content, please contact David Morgado (dmorgado [at] iiec.com) of IIEC.