SUVA, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The two-way trade between Fiji and New Zealand has increased in recent years and this upward trajectory will continue in the coming years, a Fijian government minister said on Thursday.

Speaking at an event to mark the first anniversary of the opening of the Fiji Trade Commission in Auckland, a city in New Zealand, Fiji's Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism Premila Kumar said that the two-way trade between Fiji and New Zealand in 2017 recorded over 992.2 million Fijian dollars (about 466.7 million U.S. dollars).

New Zealand's engagement with Fiji continues to be enhanced in terms of two way trade, tourism and investment as the Fijian economy is soaring to a record 10th consecutive year of economic growth, and confidence in the island nation is at an all-time high.

New Zealand has been one of Fiji's top 10 export destinations over the past five years, with Fiji's exports to New Zealand valued at 110 million Fijian dollars (about 51.7 million U.S. dollars) on average.

New Zealand has been one of Fiji's top five import markets over the years. In 2017, the highest number of imports were from New Zealand, valued at 858.1 million Fijian dollars (about 403.6 million U.S. dollars).

According to Kumar, a lot of visitors from New Zealand visit Fiji every year, and the island nation received 198,718 visitors from New Zealand last year, an increase of 7.7 percent, the highest number recorded in a given year.