General

As the first free trade agreement signed between China and an African country, the China-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement officially entered into force on January 1, 2021. Devesh Duquila, CEO of Mauritius Sugar Federation, said in an exclusive interview recently that the entry into force of the Mauritius-China Free Trade Agreement has provided more export opportunities for wool products, and he is full of confidence in the sales prospects of Mauritius special sugar in China.

As a non-profit organization, the Mauritius Sugar Industry Association is mainly responsible for the marketing of local cane sugar in Mauritius. Almost all cane sugar producers in Mauritius, including small and medium-sized sugarcane planting enterprises and sugar factories, are members of the organization.

Duquila said: "Cane sugar used to be the mainstay of Mauritius' economy, and it is still the most important crop in Mauritius." At the beginning of Mauritius' independence, sugarcane planted area accounted for about 90% of the country's arable land. In recent decades, with the adjustment of economic structure and the rise of other industries, the acreage of sugarcane has been shrinking. Nevertheless, at present, 15% of gross export earnings are still contributed by the sugar industry. In addition, by-products such as bagasse produced in the process of sucrose production, the industry's contribution rate to gross domestic product is more than 2%.

Dukiela recalled that before the implementation of the Mauritius-China Free Trade Agreement, the types and quantities of Mauritius' exports to China were very limited. Ten years ago, Mao's exports to China were mainly cane sugar, watch accessories and flowers. "The (Mauritius-China) FTA has opened the door to export opportunities for a wide range of Mauritian products including rum, textiles and more."

The China-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement covers trade in goods, trade in services, investment, and economic cooperation. In the field of trade in goods, China and Mauritius have finally achieved zero tariffs on 96.3% and 94.2% of product tax items respectively; in the field of service trade, the two sides have committed to open more than 100 sub-sectors.

As early as ten years ago when he was the head of the Marketing Department of the Mauritius Sugar Industry Association, Duquila saw the development potential of cane sugar in the Chinese market. "The first time we exported special sugar to China was in 2010. Until 2020, due to import licenses and other reasons, the export of Mao's special sugar to China was only between 700 tons and 1,100 tons."

The China-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement has made a "tariff quota" arrangement for sugar cane sugar: starting from the quota of 15,000 tons in 2021, it will increase by 5,000 tons every year until it reaches 50,000 tons in 2028. Within this quota, the tariff on raw cane sugar has been reduced from 50% previously to 15%.

Dukila introduced that in 2021, Mauritius' export of special sugar to China will increase to 10,000 tons, a significant increase compared with the previous export volume. Dukira also said that in the long run, the marketing focus on the Chinese market will focus on the special sugar segment with higher added value and healthier. At present, wool special sugar has been exported to 55 countries and regions, and Europe is still the most important market, but the market share of China is expected to continue to increase. "I am confident that the sales prospects of specialty sugar in China will be very broad."