HARARE: Zimbabwe has not been exporting fresh fruits to Mauritius for the past five years despite rising demand in the island nation. Mauritius relies mainly on imports as it does not produce fruits.
It increased its fresh fruits imports by 30% in the five years to 2014. Information gathered from ZimTrade, the country’s export promotion body, shows that while Zimbabwe is a producer and exporter of quality fruits such as citrus (oranges, lemons and valencia), the country has not featured as a supplier to Mauritius during the past five years.
Instead, Mauritius’ major supplying markets are South Africa, Egypt, the United States and Italy, among others, ZimTrade said. The major imported fruits by the Indian Ocean island during the period were citrus, apples, nuts, grapes and peaches.
“Statistics show that in 2001, Zimbabwe exported fresh fruit to Mauritius, supplying citrus, peaches, apricots, strawberries as well as nuts. There is, therefore, scope for Zimbabwean fresh fruit producers to regain the market share given that the Mauritian market is steadily growing. The Mauritian economy has been growing at an annual rate of over 3% since 2010 and is expected to continue on this trajectory in the coming years,” ZimTrade said.
According to data from the International Trade Centre, a joint trade agency between the World Trade Organisation and United Nations, Zimbabwe’s exports to Mauritius plunged to $28 000 in 2013 from $4,8 million in 2011.
ZimTrade urged fresh fruit producers to tap into this market given that they could benefit from the duty-free access into Mauritius under the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the Southern Africa Free Trade Area and the Southern African Development Community Trade Protocol.
However, ZimTrade said it was important that an exporter should comply with food quality and safety standards such as Global GAP, Fair Trade and Verified Carbon Standards in order to be competitive.
