Local exporting companies are once again on the rise. This is what emerges from the data on international trade in goods for the second quarter of 2021, published by Statistics Mauritius on Friday 27 August.
Indeed, local exports of Rs 12,607 million in the second quarter of 2021 confirmed an increase of 7.2% compared to Rs 11,764 million recorded in the first quarter. A more significant increase of 66.7% is noted if one compares this figure to that of the first quarter of 2020. Statistics Mauritius attributes this increase mainly to higher exports of “crude materials, inedible, except fuels” (+150%), “manufactured goods classified mainly by material” (+119.3%), “miscellaneous manufactured articles” (+103.4%), “food and live animals” (+36.2%) and “chemicals and related products” (+1.8%).
Including re-exports of goods and ship refuelling, total merchandise exports amounted to Rs 19,447 million in the second quarter of this year, up 58.7% compared to the second quarter of 2020. The Bureau of Statistics forecasts that Mauritius’ total merchandise exports will be around Rs 78 million in 2021, an annual increase of 11.1%.
Analysis of our export destinations
Among the countries of destination of our exports in the second quarter of 2021, Statistics Mauritius cites South Africa (13.8% of our exports were shipped there in the second quarter of 2021), the United Kingdom (with 10.9% of exports), the United States (8.1%), France (8.1%), Madagascar (7.5%), Spain (6.1%) and Reunion (4.1%).
European countries remain our main source of export revenue in the second quarter. They bought about 42.2% of our exported goods for an amount of Rs 7,045 million in the second quarter.
The analysis of exports by country shows signs of a revival of our markets. Indeed, compared to the second quarter last year, the main export markets recorded the following increases: South Africa (+209.1%), Reunion (+131.3%), Spain (+108.4%), UK (+71.8%), Madagascar (+46%), France (+36.1%) and the USA (+29.8%). Comparing the first two semesters (six-month period) of 2021 and 2020, the variations in export figures are Reunion (+121.7%), South Africa (+89.2%), UK (+36.6%), Spain (+20.8%), France (+19.6%), Madagascar (+17.5%) and USA (-6.5%). These figures confirm a recovery in local exports.
Merchandise imports: 12.3% increase expected in 2021
Statistics Mauritius has put total merchandise imports in the second quarter of 2021 at Rs 47 797 million, an increase of 7.7% compared to the previous quarter. This is mainly due to increases in imports of ‘chemicals and allied products’ (+76.0%), ‘beverages and tobacco’ (+42.4%), ‘animal and vegetable oils and fats’ (+39.7%), ‘manufactured goods classified mainly by material’ (+13.1%), ‘raw materials, (+13.1%), ‘raw materials, non-edible, excluding fuels’ (+4.9%) and ‘food and live animals’ (+2.1%), partly offset by declines in imports of ‘machinery and transport equipment’ (-7.7%), ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ (-4.4%) and ‘miscellaneous manufactured articles’ (-4.0%). In addition, Statistics Mauritius forecasts total merchandise imports, including one-off purchases such as metro terminals, cranes and tugs, to be Rs 186 000 million for Mauritius in 2021, up 12.3% from last year’s imports of Rs 165 700 million. As a result, the merchandise trade deficit is expected to be around Rs 108,000 million in 2021, up 13.1% from last year’s estimated Rs 95,500 million, Statistics Mauritius said.
