Challenges looming ahead for Mauritius textile

The economic turmoil of the past few years has taken a toll on many countries, and international trade has also been deeply affected. Countries that remained immune to these changes managed it with sharp policies. The textile and apparel sector also had its share of ups and downs during these years. Asian countries, including China, India, and Bangladesh, remained competitive in textile and apparel manufacturing and outsourcing despite the economic challenges. However, the textile sector of some other countries, like Mauritius, struggled to keep up with the chaos. Today, the Mauritian textile sector stands tall, but it faces significant challenges.

Over the last decade or so, the textile and apparel sectors of Mauritius have become one of the most important contributors to the country's gross domestic product, accounting for 5 percent. Trade agreements and the benefits derived from them have helped the country's textile industry grow, but there are still significant challenges ahead for Mauritius in the textile and apparel sector.

Mauritius has come a long way in its textile and apparel sector, evolving from a manufacturer of basic items to a systematically established sector that produces designer garments. The country manufactures a range of apparel products, including T-shirts, lingerie, loungewear, shirts, sportswear, trousers, denim, suits, and cardigans. Mauritius is home to around 250 textile industries that provide jobs for over 40,000 people. In the last financial year, Mauritius exported T-shirts worth MUR 2.23 billion, shirts worth MUR 6.43 billion, trousers worth MUR 4.76 billion, and cardigans worth MUR 2.33 billion.

Mauritius's textile industry focuses on supplying high-quality products and has the potential to supply various textile products at competitive prices. The sector also relies on upgraded modern technology. The country's liberal economic policies related to international trade and investment have earned it loyal customers from around the world. Mauritius also enjoys preferential market access, duty-free and quota-free status in the European Union under the EU-ESA Economic Partnership Agreement, in the United States of America under the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act, in Africa under the Southern Africa Development Community and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and in Turkey under the Bilateral Free Trade Agreement.

Labor in Mauritius is also cost-effective, with the average labor cost ranging from US dollar 120 to US dollar 400 annually. Mauritius primarily exports its textile products to Europe and the United States. However, apparel and textile exports to South Africa have increased in the past few years. Approximately 48 percent of textile and apparel products are exported to Europe, 18 percent to the United States, and 24 percent to South Africa. In the last financial year, apparel worth MUR 20.1 billion were exported, with a total export turnover of around MUR 27 billion or US dollar 895.5 million annually.

The looming threat over the textile industry in Mauritius is the fact that it relies heavily on preferential trade agreements, which make it less competitive at the global level. There has been a lack of a clear strategy affecting the sector's further growth. Additionally, the last five years have been extremely difficult for the Mauritian textile industry, as almost all foreign-owned textile enterprises have faced challenges.