There has been a change in Government’s stance on regional trade. The private sector has now taken the lead to determine markets that suit its products through the Africa Warehousing Project and the Export Credit Insurance Scheme.
Between 2015 and 2020, Government invested considerable time and resources in developing bilateral ties with reform-oriented African countries and built Special Economic Zones in countries such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Senegal and planned to do so in Kenya too. Although all the SEZs offer considerable benefits, only a handful of local companies have plugged in.
Africa accounted for 28% of total Mauritian exports of goods in 2020. With the grim global economic outlook for developing economies that indicates that the economic fallout will outlive the health crisis, the Government has decided to let the private sector decide for itself where best to export and to provide financial incentives to ease the burden of non-tariff barriers to send goods on the continent.
Since 2021/2022 National Budget extends the Africa Warehousing Scheme to the financial year 2022/2023, the government will continue to provide 60% refund on the rental and administrative costs of warehousing facilities on the African continent.
11 companies are currently benefiting from the Africa Warehousing Scheme, out of which 4 are exporting to Tanzania where the Mauritius Export Association owns and operates a warehousing facility to primarily enable its members to penetrate the Tanzanian market more easily.
The Africa Warehousing Scheme is attracting significant interest from export-oriented companies looking forward to sell goods to mainland Africa.
The risk perception of intra-African trade remains nonetheless high among Mauritian businesses, as highlighted by the World Bank in its last Country Economic Memorandum. This is the reason why MEXA is working on the Export Credit Insurance Scheme to reduce financial risks linked to the Africa Warehousing Scheme.
