An archipelago consisting of 115 islands located in the Indian Ocean off Africa’s eastern coast, the Republic of Seychelles shipped US$695.8 million worth of goods around the globe in 2021.

That estimated dollar amount reflects a 101.4% acceleration from $345.4 million in 2020, and a 17% increase compared to $594.6 million during 2017.

Seychelles’ top 3 most valuable exported products are frozen whole fish, preserved or prepared fish including caviar, and fresh whole fish. Collectively, that triad of major exports represents 83% of the overall value of goods exported from Seychelles during 2021. Such a high percentage indicates Seychelles’ intensely concentrated portfolio of exported products.

Seychelles’ Major Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 90.7% of products exported from Seychelles were bought by importers in: France (35.9% of Seychelles’ global total), United Kingdom (21.9%), Italy (9.7%), United Arab Emirates (7.8%), Germany (6.3%), Netherlands (2%), Hong Kong (1.9%), Denmark (1.25%), United States (1.24%), Taiwan (1.16%), Malaysia (0.8%) and Israel (0.7%).

From a continental perspective, 80.1% of Seychelles’ exports by value were delivered to European countries while another 15.3% were sold to Asian importers.

Smaller percentages went to Africa (2.4%), North America (1.3%), Oceania (0.7%) led by Australia, and Latin America (0.2%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

Given Seychelles’ population of 98,000 people, its total $695.8 million in 2021 exports translates to roughly $7,100 for every resident in the East African archipelago. That dollar metric nearly doubles the average $3,650 per capita one year earlier during 2020.

Seychelles Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in global shipments from Seychelles during 2021. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Seychelles.

1. Fish: US$312.8 million (45% of total exports)
2. Meat/seafood preparations: $274.3 million (39.4%)
3. Ships, boats: $17.7 million (2.5%)
4. Mineral fuels including oil: $14.9 million (2.1%)
5. Machinery including computers: $8.2 million (1.2%)
6. Food industry waste, animal fodder: $7.5 million (1.1%)
7. Electrical machinery, equipment: $7.4 million (1.1%)
8. Other chemical goods: $5.7 million (0.8%)
9. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $5.6 million (0.8%)
10. Vehicles: $4.3 million (0.6%)

Seychelles ’s top 10 exports accounted for 94.6% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Vehicles represent the fastest-grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 1,667% since 2020.

In second place for improving export sales was fish via a 1,337% advance.

Seychelles ‘s shipments of machinery including computers posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 870.4% year over year.

The leading decliner among Seychelles’ top 10 export categories was mineral fuels including oil which fell -39.9%. That decline was caused mainly by lower revenues for processed petroleum oils exported by Seychelles.

At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, frozen whole fish represents Seychelles’ most valuable exported product at 41% of the overall total. In second place were preserved or prepared fish including caviar (39.4%) trailed by fresh whole fish (2.5%), processed petroleum oils (2.1%), inedible meat flour (0.9%), fish fillets and pieces (0.7%), then yachts and other pleasure or sports vessels (also 0.7%).

Products Generating Seychelles’ Best Trade Surpluses

Seychelles incurred a projected $66.6 million product trade surplus for 2021, reversing a -$719.6 million deficit one year earlier in 2020.

The following types of product shipments from Seychelles represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Meat/seafood preparations: US$269.5 million (Up by 5.8% since 2020)
2. Fish: $262.9 million (Reversing a -$123 million deficit)
3. Mineral fuels including oil: $2.6 million (Reversing a -$146.6 million deficit)
4. Organic chemicals: $2.4 million (Reversing a -$965,000 deficit)
5. Live animals: $741,000 (Down by -25.3%)
6. Food industry waste, animal fodder: $725,000 (Down by -89%)
7. Other base metals: $327,000 (Up by 170.2%)
8. Collector items, art, antiques: $316,000 (Up by 32.8%)
9. Miscellaneous animal-origin products: $103,000 (Reversing a -$146,000 deficit)
10. Photo/cinematographic goods: $70,000 (Reversing a -$58,000 deficit)

Seychelles has highly positive net exports in the international trade of meat or seafood preparations. In turn, these cashflows indicate Seychelles’ strong competitive advantages under that food product category.

Products Causing Seychelles’ Worst Trade Deficits

Below are exports from Seychelles that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Seychelles’ goods trail its importer spending on foreign products.

1. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$48.2 million (Down by -13.7%)
2. Machinery including computers: -$44.9 million (Down by -31.8%)
3. Articles of iron or steel: -$27 million (Down by -35.2%)
4. Ships, boats: -$24.4 million (Down by -75.8%)
5. Plastics, plastic articles: -$16.1 million (Down by -28.8%)
6. Meat: -$15.9 million (Down by -19.6%)
7. Aircraft, spacecraft: -$15.9 million (Up by 104.3%)
8. Clocks , watches including parts: -$14.4 million (Up by 3498.5%)
9. Paper, paper items: -$13.1 million (Down by -24.4%)
10. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: -$13.1 million (Down by -19.6%)

Seychelles has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the machinery-related product categories.

International Trade Players in Seychelles

According to Alibaba.com listings, the following companies are examples of companies exporting products from Seychelles.

• Crosby Ltd (metal/plastic scrap, chemical waste, recycled tires)
• East-West Trading & Consulting (alcoholic beverages, dairy, machinery)
• Globarom (cinnamon bark, oils, spices, lemongrass)
• Insite Traders PTY Ltd (wood flooring, shingles, logs)
• NDE Nelson (wood pellets, briquettes)
• Seaweed Seychelles Pty Ltd (seaweed growth/soil conditioning)
• Shakhnar Holding (diamonds, emeralds)
• TChem Limited (sulfur products)

Wikipedia also lists entities from Seychelles that engage in international trade transactions, either directly or by providing financial services.

Selected examples are shown below.

• Air Seychelles (commercial airliner)
• Central Bank of Seychelles (government central bank)
• Seychelles Trading Company Ltd (government importer/wholesaler)

 

In macroeconomic terms, Seychelles’ total exported goods represent 22.2% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2021 ($3.137 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 22.2% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2021 compares to 14% for 2020. Those percentages indicate a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Seychelles’ total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of economic performance is the unemployment rate. Seychelles’ average unemployment rate was 3% for 2021, according to Trading Economics.

Seychelles’ capital city is Victoria.

See also Top African Export Countries, South Africa’s Top 10 Exports and Ghana’s Top 10 Exports

Research Sources:
Alibaba, Seychelles Showroom. Accessed on October 1, 2022

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Seychelles. Accessed on October 1, 2022

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 1, 2022

Foreign Trade, United States Census Bureau. Accessed on October 1, 2022

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on October 1, 2022

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 1, 2022

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 1, 2022

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on October 1, 2022

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Seychelles. Accessed on October 1, 2022

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on October 1, 2022

Wikipedia, Seychelles. Accessed on October 1, 2022