Africa-Press – Mauritius. An interactive session between the Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Mr Soomilduth Bholah, and representatives from Export Oriented Enterprises (EOE) was held, today, at the Mauritius Standards Bureau in Moka, with the aims of identifying operational constraints and brainstorming on policy measures for greater export growth.
On this occasion, three presentations were made by the support institutions namely on Accelerating transition to a Net-zero Nature-Positive Economy Project and Energy Audit Scheme provided by the Ministry, Support schemes for the manufacturing sector by the Economic Development Board (EDB), and Financing options, offered by the Industrial Finance Corporation of Mauritius (IFCM).
In a statement, Minister Bholah highlighted that the EOE sector recorded remarkable figures amounting to Rs 49.9 billion for the year 2022 as compared to Rs 42.7 billion in 2021.
He indicated that major activities of the sector were textile and clothing, fish and fish preparations, jewellery and processed diamonds, medical devices, and pharmaceutical products.
“Some of the main markets,” he remarked, “are South Africa, the United Kingdom, France, the United States of America, Spain, Netherlands, Italy and Madagascar.
” He also observed that the EOE sector was currently faced with global economic challenges and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for textile and clothing.
“Mauritius,” stated the Minister, “has demonstrated resilience over time,” adding that there was an increasing need to digitalise the sector to deal with the existing challenges in terms of lack of manpower and financing issues.
He further underscored that there were many opportunities that would arise for the EOE sector through the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement with India, the Free Trade Agreement with China, the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement and the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
“The session,” he underlined, “provided an important platform for the EOE to put forth their main concerns, proposals and suggestions with a view to enhancing the performance of the sector.
” He encouraged the EOE to avail of the support schemes provided by the Ministry, the EDB and the IFCM, adding that they should work towards improving their export readiness.
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