The growth estimated at 5,6 %
The Mauritian growth rate should reach 5,6 % in 2024, like the previous year, according to the latest edition of the National Accounts Estimates, published at the end of December. The previous edition expected growth to be 7%.. The main contributors to the GDP growth recorded in the first nine months of 2024 are, in order, construction sectors, financial and insurance activities, accommodation and catering activities and wholesale and retail trade.
Sugar production down
Mauritian sugar production should amount to 225,000 tonnes at the end of the 2024 campaign, according to the latest estimates. The decline continues : production was 255,000 tonnes in 2021, 232,000 tonnes in 2022 and 238,000 tonnes in 2023. Ten years ago, Mauritian sugar production still amounted to 400,000 tonnes. The 2024 campaign was marked by drought and the poor quality of certain canes delivered late to the factories, linked to the shortage of labor for cutting and the lack of means of transport.
Geographic identification for unrefined sugars
The Industrial Property Office of Mauritius awarded a geographical indication certification at the end of December (IG) for the country's unrefined sugars. This label should confer commercial advantages to Mauritian sugar groups on the European premium sugar market., where consumers are increasingly concerned about product traceability.
Unemployment is falling
The unemployment rate was estimated at 5,9% in the third quarter of 2024 by Statistics Mauritius, when it was 6,2% in the previous quarter and 6,3% a year earlier. The 35,200 unemployed Mauritians are more often women (59 %) only men (41 %). 36% of them are aged 16 to 24. 61% of unemployed people are single. They are mostly poorly qualified and 81% of the unemployed have been looking for a job for less than a year.
