The prospects of regional trade

Regional trade in the sub-Saharan African region was given a first impetus in the 1990s, when several regional trade agreements (RTAs) were set up. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) was established in 1994, followed by the Eastern African Community in 1999 and subsequently by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in 2000.

Since the establishment of COMESA and SADC, Mauritius has been participating actively in the trade negotiations of both RTAs in view of increasing exports to the African region and to deepen the regional integration process. However, after almost 20 years of promoting the regional trade policy agenda, it is only recently that some export potential to the region has been noted.

South Africa and Madagascar account for the highest share of our regional exports representing about 85 percent of total regional exports. Our duty-free access on the South African market under the SADC configuration has resulted in a phenomenal increase in the exports of textiles and clothing to this country. Currently, exports of textiles and clothing to South Africa have reached more than Rs 6.5 billion and account for nearly 25% of total exports of textiles and clothing.  While Mauritian exporters benefit from a 0% duty for garments manufactured from imported yarn, other exporters outside the SADC configuration such as from China and India have to pay a 40% customs duty in general at customs border in South Africa.  In other words, duty-free and quota-free access on the South African market has resulted in Mauritian exporters of textiles and clothing to compete effectively with the low-cost producers from Asia.  Exports trends to South Africa reveal that the latter will continue to be a major destination in the years to come...

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