In Honiara, many households rely on income from selling produce in informal (community-based) urban markets, yet little is known about these markets and their economic opportunities. What we do know about Honiara’s markets suggests their socio-economic value is high; estimates for the government-regulated Honiara Central Market puts the annual gross value at USD10–16 million (AUD13–19 million) with women responsible for about 90% of these earnings (IFC 2010:1). Today, this is the equivalent of AUD40–60,000 going directly to households and the local economy each day. The Honiara planning scheme recognises the need for more serviced and planned marketplaces, but no action has occurred.

This In Brief is the first in a series of three that examines the socio-economic value, opportunities and challenges facing these markets. In this In Brief we provide an overview of the study and its generalised findings with subsequent papers providing more detail about market livelihoods and security.

Click here to read ‘Talk of the Town’, the compendium of In-Briefs related to the topic of ‘urbanisation’.

Download/View publication

Attachment	Size
Markets Matter: ANU–UN Women Project on Honiara’s Informal Markets in Solomon Islands	1.24 MB