LAMI, Fiji -- A who's who of Fiji has been warned of how vulnerable their pacific island economy is and how much-needed investor confidence depends on its political and social climate.

The country has suffered three coups and a military mutiny since 1987.

"Given our small size and that we are very small players in international markets, we have no control on export or import prices. This shows therefore that any adverse external developments can have a huge detrimental impact on Fiji," Fiji Reserve Bank Governor Savenaca Narube told a two-day economic summit last week. "Exports and imports of goods and services are equal to around 66 percent of gross domestic product (GDP); this shows a very high dependence of our economy on trade and basically our reliance on the international economy for our survival."

At the summit, parliamentarians sat amongst social workers and the pro-indigenous government's full cabinet and the private sector, AFP reported.

Narube presented an analysis of Fiji's economy and offered positive forecasts in all vital sectors except for the sugar industry that makes up a major part of the countrys revenue.

"One of the areas of course of concern is the sugar industry, which is beset with enormous problems, which include the issue of land leases, low cane supply to mills, transportation and mill inefficiencies, high cane burning and low quality sugar," Narube said. "As a result, sugar production has been declining since the peak in 1994, the estimate this year is almost half of 1994s production."

He said another problem was emigration, which, since the 2000 coup and mutiny, had risen substantially. Last year an all-time high of 6,300 people, out of a population of 830,000. "We are losing many of our qualified people."

The professional and technical category of emigrants had risen "substantially" over the last two years -- by 25 percent in 2000 and 19 percent in 2001.

An example cited was last years emigration figures of 376 teachers, a 56 percent rise from 2000.

Investment-wise, Fiji's highest years of investment was between 1977 to 1982 when it was about 29 percent of gdp.

The economy never fully recovered from a slump in 1982.

A study conducted in 1999 -- before the latest troubles -- by the World Bank compiled a composite vulnerability index in which Fiji was ranked eighth as opposed to Singapore at 10; Solomon Islands 11; Samoa 20; Mauritius 27; Papua New Guinea 30; Barbados 28 and Trinidad and Tobago 49.

"If we were to try to reach where the other developing countries are in terms of investment then we would have to pump in additional investment worth over 668 million Fiji dollars ($311 million)," Narube said.

He said while foreign reserves were comfortable "our economic growth has been low and volatile".

"Our income per head of population has been relatively stagnant over the past 25 years and some countries are obviously passing us by in terms of raising the quality of life. "A decline in our quality of life suggests falling living standards, and will be reflected in rising poverty levels."

Citing cyclones that sometimes put governments back by millions of dollars as an example of Fijis vulnerability, Narube said Fijis vulnerability was largely due to "our size and location, natural disasters, dependence on trade and lack of diversification".

"While openness to the world economy can be a source of many economic benefits, for an economy like Fijis with such a strong dependence on trade and with limited diversification, it is extremely vulnerable to any adverse external shocks," he said.