An island country in the Indian Ocean near Africa’s southeastern coastline, the Republic of Mauritius shipped US$1.85 billion worth of exported products around the globe in 2023.

That dollar amount results from a -1% reduction from $1.87 billion 5 years earlier in 2019.

Year over year, overall sales of Mauritian exported products accelerated by 34.4% compared to $138 billion starting from 2022.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the Mauritian rupee depreciated by -27.6% against the US dollar since 2019 and diluted by -2.5% from 2022 to 2023. The weaker local currency for Mauritius makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.

The top 5 most valuable exports from Mauritius are fish including caviar, sugar, unknitted and non-crocheted men’s suits or trousers, special live primates plus reptiles or mammals, then unmounted or unset diamonds. Collectively, that quintet of major exports generated over two-fifths (42.1%) of total international sales for Mauritius during 2023.

Mauritius’ Major Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 77.9% of products exported from Mauritius was bought by importers in: France (14.7% of the Mauritian total), South Africa (10.8%), United States of America (9.4%), United Kingdom (9.3%), Madagascar (7.3%), Spain (6.8%), Italy (4.6%), Vietnam (3.9%), Netherlands (3.7%), India (3%), Kenya (2.3%) and Germany (2%).

From a continental perspective, 48.1% of Mauritius’ exports by value was delivered to European countries while 23.9% was sold to importers located in countries also part of Africa. Mauritius shipped another 17.4% worth of goods to buyers in Asia.

Smaller percentages went to customers in North America (9.7%), Oceania (0.6%) led by Australia, then Latin America (0.3%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

Given Mauritius’ population of 1.261 million people, its total $1.85 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $1,450 for every resident in the African island country. That dollar metric surpasses the average $1,100 per capita one year earlier for 2022.

Mauritius’ Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Mauritian global shipments during 2023 at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Mauritius.

1. Meat/seafood preparations: US$263.3 million (14.2% of total exports)
2. Sugar, sugar confectionery: $232.4 million (12.5%)
3. Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $170.4 million (9.2%)
4. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $169.5 million (9.1%)
5. Gems, precious metals: $133.4 million (7.2%)
6. Fish: $93.5 million (5%)
7. Live animals: $89 million (4.8%)
8. Knit or crochet fabric: $66.4 million (3.6%)
9. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $62.5 million (3.4%)
10. Plastics, plastic articles: $50.1 million (2.7%)

Mauritius’ top 10 exports generated 71.8% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Plastics, including both as materials and items made from plastic, represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories thanks to a 348.6% gain from 2022 to 2023.

In second place for improving export sales was fish via a 328.4% advance.

Mauritius’ shipments of gems and precious metals posted the third-fastest increase, up by 232%. Higher sales drivers included exports of precious metal waste and diamonds.

The leading decliner among Mauritius’ top 10 export categories was knitted or crocheted clothing and accessories, recording a -14.3% year-over-year drop.

Drilling down to 4-digit HTS codes, the most valuable export goods from Mauritius are fish including preserved or prepared caviar (14.2% the Mauritian global total). Sugar (12.5%) finished ahead of unknitted and non-crocheted men’s suits or trousers (5.4%), special live primates, reptiles and mammals (4.8%), unmounted and unset diamonds (4.4%), frozen whole fish (4.1%), knitted or crocheted t-shirts and vests (3.6%), non-warp knit fabrics (3%), electro-medical equipment including x-rays (2.6%) then plastic packing goods including caps and lids (1.8%).

Products Generating Best Trade Surpluses for Mauritius

The following types of Mauritian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Meat/seafood preparations: US$212.7 million (Up by 7.7% since 2022)
2. Sugar, sugar confectionery: $147.9 million (Up by 16.8%)
3. Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $133.1 million (Down by -13.6%)
4. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $98.2 million (Down by -24.2%)
5. Live animals: $64.7 million (Up by 157.6%)
6. Knit or crochet fabric: $58.1 million (Down by -2%)
7. Ships, boats: $10.9 million (Reversing a -$4.4 million deficit)
8. Clocks, watches including parts: $6.4 million (Down by -16.8%)
9. Miscellaneous animal-origin products: $2.9 million (Reversing a -$10.7 million deficit)
10. Leather/animal gut articles: $2.5 million (Reversing a -$1.7 million deficit)

Mauritius has notably positive net exports in the international trade of clothing and accessories as well as meat or seafood preparations. In turn, these cashflows indicate Mauritius’ strong competitive advantages under those product categories.

Products Causing Worst Trade Deficits for Mauritius

Mauritius incurred an overall -US$4.4 billion trade deficit for 2023, reducing by -15.5% from -$5.2 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2022.

Below are exports from Mauritius that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Mauritius’ goods trail Mauritian importer spending on foreign products.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: -US$1.3 billion (Down by -14.7% since 2022)
2. Vehicles: -$558.1 million (Up by 33.3%)
3. Machinery including computers: -$410.7 million (Up by 0.6%)
4. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$380.5 million (Down by -7.8%)
5. Fish: -$170.1 million (Down by -25.4%)
6. Cereals: -$159.7 million (Down by -4.5%)
7. Pharmaceuticals: -$154.3 million (Down by -5.7%)
8. Dairy, eggs, honey: -$123.1 million (Down by -11.6%)
9. Plastics, plastic articles: -$111.8 million (Down by -33.5%)
10. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: -$92 million (Up by 12.3%)

Mauritius has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the mineral fuels-related products category, particularly for processed petroleum oils, petroleum gas and coal.

Mauritian Export Companies

Not one Mauritian corporation ranks among the Forbes Global 2000 list.

Wikipedia does list some exports-related companies from Mauritius. Selected examples are shown below.

• Emtel (telecommunications)
• ENL Group (conglomerate)
• Essar Energy (oil, gas)
• Mauritius Telecom (telecommunications)
• Phoenix Beverages (brewery)
• State Bank of Mauritius (commercial bank)

 
In macroeconomic terms, Mauritius’ total exported goods represent 5% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($37.2 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 5% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 is less than the 4.1% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Mauritius’ total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Mauritius’ unemployment rate averaged 6.27% for 2023, down from an average 6.803% in 2022 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.

Mauritius’ capital city is Port Louis.

See also South Africa’s Top 10 Exports, Burkina Faso’s Top 10 Exports and Top African Export Countries

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook report on Africa: Mauritius. Accessed on November 10, 2024

Forbes 2023 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on November 10, 2024

Foreign Trade , United States Census Bureau. Accessed on November 10, 2024

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on November 10, 2024

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on November 10, 2024

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on November 10, 2024

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on November 10, 2024

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Mauritius. Accessed on November 10, 2024

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on November 10, 2024