In a good news for the Republic of Mauritius, its trade deficit slowed by about 23 percent during the first nine months of year 2009. Even though the exports declined by 6% the imports also fell by 14.5%. The biggest reason for a lower trade deficit is attributed to lower prices of fuel and food items. The trade deficit during this duration was 37.62 billion Mauritian rupees (MUR). Mauritius is extremely famous for its textile sector and supplies garments to one of the biggest chains of Europe. But since this tiny island is low on resources, it has to export a significant portion of its other resources. Although those exports shrunk slightly this year, they are expected to rebound once the economy gets better. The main trading partners are France, China, Great Britain, India and USA.
Mauritius has recorded significant foreign investment since independence largely because of its record of stable democracy. it has one of the Africa's highest per capita incomes. The island is surrounded by coral reefs and beautiful beaches which are quite popular among international tourists.
Financial services, fishing, textiles sugar and tourism are the main sources of this tiny island. Mauritius is gearing towards becoming a duty-free island within the next four years to attract more tourists. Total population of Mauritius is about 1.2 million. Hindus, Roman Catholic and Muslims form the biggest religious groups in the island. Mauritius claims sovereignty over the Chagos islands, which lie around 1,000 km to the north-east. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export earnings. Financial services, data processing, and call centers provide increasing employment, and tourism is important.
Due to the economic slowdown, Tourism has been the hardest hit sector. Mauritius has attracted more than 32,000 offshore entities.
Prepared by Linda
Independent Reporter
In collaboration with
Weightism: Weight loss forums and articles
(http://www.weightism.org, http://www.writearticles.org)
