An island country in the Indian Ocean near Africa’s southeastern coastline, the Republic of Mauritius shipped US$1.75 billion worth of exported products around the globe in 2024.

That dollar amount results from a 13.2% gain from $1.55 billion 5 years earlier in 2020.

Year over year, overall sales of Mauritian exported products retreated by -5.8% compared to $1.86 billion starting from 2023.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2024, the Mauritian rupee depreciated by -15.2% against the US dollar since 2020 and diluted by -2.3% from 2023 to 2024. The weaker local currency for Mauritius makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers starting with American currency.

The top 5 most valuable exports from Mauritius are fish including caviar, sugar, special live primates plus reptiles or mammals, whole frozen fish, then unknitted and non-crocheted men’s suits or trousers, then unmounted or unset diamonds. Collectively, that quintet of major exports generated well over two-fifths (43.8%) of total international sales for Mauritius during 2024.

Mauritius’ Major Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 79.1% of products exported from Mauritius was bought by importers in: France (13.7% of the Mauritian total), South Africa (11.6%), Madagascar (10.3%), United States of America (10.1%), United Kingdom (9.1%), Spain (7%), Netherlands (4.6%), Italy (3.15%), Kenya (3.09%), India (2.6%), United Arab Emirates (2.1%) and Germany (1.8%).

From a continental perspective, 46.5% of Mauritius’ exports by value was delivered to European countries while 28.2% was sold to importers located in countries also part of the African content. Mauritius shipped another 14.3% worth of goods to buyers located in Asia.

Smaller percentages went to customers in North America (10.3%), Oceania (0.6%) led by Australia, then Latin America (0.2%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

Given Mauritius’ population of 1.26 million people, its total $1.75 billion in 2024 exports translates to roughly $1,400 for every resident in the African island country. That dollar metric lags the average $1,450 per capita one year earlier for 2023.

Mauritius’ Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Mauritian global shipments during 2024 at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Mauritius.

1. Meat/seafood preparations: US$259.4 million (14.8% of total exports)
2. Sugar, sugar confectionery: $225.7 million (12.9%)
3. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $148.7 million (8.5%)
4. Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $143.9 million (8.2%)
5. Fish: $105.6 million (6%)
6. Live animals: $104.1 million (5.9%)
7. Knit or crochet fabric: $91 million (5.2%)
8. Gems, precious metals: $73.8 million (4.2%)
9. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $63.5 million (3.6%)
10. Plastics, plastic articles: $46.4 million (2.6%)

Mauritius’ top 10 exports generated 72% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Knitted or crocheted fabric was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 36.5% from 2023 to 2024.

In second place for improving export sales were live animals via a 16.5% advance.

Mauritius’ shipments of fish posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 12.6%.

The leading decliner among Mauritius’ top 10 export categories was gems and precious metals, pulled down by a -44.9% year-over-year drop.

Drilling down to 4-digit HTS codes, the most valuable export goods from Mauritius are fish including preserved or prepared caviar (14.8% the Mauritian global total). Sugar (12.8%) finished ahead of special live primates, reptiles and mammals (5.9%), frozen whole fish (5.2%), unknitted and non-crocheted men’s suits or trousers (5.1%), non-warp knit fabrics (4.5%), knitted or crocheted t-shirts and vests (3.3%), electro-medical equipment including x-rays (2.7%), plastic packing goods including caps and lids (1.8%), then medication mixes in dosage (1.6%).

Products Generating Best Trade Surpluses for Mauritius

The following types of Mauritian product shipments 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$196.6 million (Down by -7.9% since 2023)
2. Sugar, sugar confectionery: $168.2 million (Up by 13.4%)
3. Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $102.7 million (Down by -23.1%)
4. Knit or crochet fabric: $81.8 million (Up by 40.3%)
5. Live animals: $79.6 million (Up by 22.6%)
6. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $70.9 million (Down by -28.1%)
7. Clocks , watches including parts: $6.5 million (Up by 1.6%)
8. Miscellaneous animal-origin products: $1.6 million (Down by -46.2%)
9. Woodpulp: $792,000 (Down by -33.2%)

Mauritius has notably positive net exports in the international trade of clothing and accessories as well as meat or seafood preparations and sugar. In turn, these cashflows indicate Mauritius’ strong competitive advantages under the related product categories.

Products Causing Worst Trade Deficits for Mauritius

Mauritius incurred an overall -US$5 billion trade deficit for 2024, expanding by 13.6% from -$4.44 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2023.

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

1. Mineral fuels including oil: -US$1.5 billion (Up by 15.4% since 2023)
2. Vehicles: -$674.8 million (Up by 20.5%)
3. Machinery including computers: -$437.3 million (Up by 6.1%)
4. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$397.6 million (Up by 4.1%)
5. Pharmaceuticals: -$156.1 million (Up by 0.8%)
6. Cereals: -$151.7 million (Down by -5.4%)
7. Plastics, plastic articles: -$138 million (Up by 23%)
8. Fish: -$132.9 million (Down by -22.2%)
9. Dairy, eggs, honey: -$132.1 million (Up by 6.9%)
10. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefab buildings: -$116.3 million (Up by 26.1%)

Mauritius has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the mineral fuels-related products category, historically for processed petroleum oils, petroleum gas and coal.

Mauritian Export Companies

Not one Mauritian corporation ranks among the Forbes Global 2000 list.

Wikipedia does list some exports-related companies from Mauritius. Selected examples are shown below.

• Emtel (telecommunications)
• ENL Group (conglomerate)
• Essar Energy (oil, gas)
• Mauritius Telecom (telecommunications)
• Phoenix Beverages (brewery)
• State Bank of Mauritius (commercial bank)

 
In macroeconomic terms, Mauritius’ total exported goods represent 4.5% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($39.1 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 4.5% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 exceeds the 4.1% for 2023. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Mauritius’ total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Mauritius’ unemployment rate averaged 5.8% for 2024, down from an average 6.106% in 2023 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.

Mauritius’ capital city is Port Louis.

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

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook report on Africa: Mauritius. Accessed on December 30, 2025

EXCHANGE-RATES.org, Exchange Rate History, Mauritian rupee to US dollars. Accessed on December 30, 2025

Forbes 2023 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on December 30, 2025

Foreign Trade , United States Census Bureau. Accessed on December 30, 2025

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on December 30, 2025

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on December 30, 2025

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on December 30, 2025

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on December 30, 2025

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Mauritius. Accessed on December 30, 2025

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on December 30, 2025