Mauritius trade deficit for April reaches Rs13.1 billion

The trade deficit in Mauritius widened by Rs 13.1 billion in April, marking a 6.6% decrease compared to April 2022 (Rs 14.0 billion). Total exports for April amounted to Rs 7.9 billion, reflecting a 9.8% decline compared to April 2022 (Rs 8.8 billion). Similarly, imports experienced a slight decrease (7.8%), reaching Rs 21.0 billion compared to Rs 22.8 billion in April 2022.

Furthermore, the total value of trade for April 2023 stood at Rs 29 billion, down from Rs 31.6 billion in April 2022, indicating a 9.1% decline.

The 9.8% drop in exports can be attributed to declines in Machinery and equipment, Food and live animals, and Miscellaneous manufactured articles (from Rs 2.3 billion to Rs 2 billion), as well as Manufactured goods chiefly classified by material (from Rs 1.2 billion to Rs 1 billion).

Regarding imports, the 7.8% decrease was primarily driven by a decline in petroleum product imports (from Rs 6.3 billion to Rs 3.4 billion) and Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material (from Rs 3.3 billion to Rs 2.9 billion). However, imports of Machinery and transport equipment saw an increase, as did imports of Food and live animals.

In April, the United States (11.5%), France (11.1%), South Africa (9.6%), the United Kingdom (8.2%), Italy (7.5%), and Madagascar (7.2%) were the main destinations for exports.

Imports mainly originated from China (15.9%), the United Arab Emirates (13.5%), India (13.5%), as well as South Africa and France (5.9%), and Japan (3.4%).

Source: Le Mauricien