The Fiji Sugar Corporation has a monopoly on milling and marketing. Sugar is by far Fiji's largest export and accounts for more than one-half of all exports. Except for a few years early in the 20th century, the alienation of native land has been prohibited since 1874, thus leaving 83 percent of all land under Fijian ownership. Farmers of other races operate on leaseholds of up to 30 years under the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Act. Fijian land ownership is in the hands of mataqali , or clan groups, but may be administered through the Native Lands Trust Board.
Tourism is almost as large an earner of foreign exchange as sugar.
Fiji is strategically located for air travelers from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Japan and is a major destination for tourist cruises. Tourism is based on the attractions of duty-free shopping and colourful handicraft markets as well as the usual attractions of tropical islands. Many hotels are located on small offshore islands or secluded beaches and offer accommodations in houses of local design and materials rather than in urban-style multistory buildings. The third major export earner, though well behind sugar and tourism, is gold, which is mined at Vatukoula in northern Viti Levu. Copper deposits are known to exist at Namosi, inland from Suva, but mining is not viable.