Mauritius - Industries

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Réunion’s fishing industry has benefited greatly from the fact that stocks in the Indian Ocean are in better condition than in other waters. Tuna and swordfish are filleted and exported by airfreight to France, Italy and the UK. Red tuna is exported to Japan, a new market for the island. Réunion also has some barren islets around which Patagonian toothfish and lobsters are caught and frozen for export.

The only agricultural industry in Réunion which has been developed to its full potential (in terms of land usage and technology) is the sugar industry. It accounts for around 25% of the island’s agricultural production and provides income for some 5,000 small-scale farmers. The island’s mountainous interior means that only a narrow strip of land between the coastline and interior is suitable for agriculture – around 20% of the island’s land area. The sugarcane grown on these slopes plays an important part in reducing erosion. Réunion sells its sugar above world market prices, which is possible because the industry is heavily subsidised.

The target that Réunion hoped to achieve by the year 2000 was only 500,000 tourists per annum. They fell slightly short with 430,000 arrivals and the number was down to 380,500 in 2007. The fall was largely attributed to the follow-on effect of the chikungunya virus outbreak of 2006 (see box on page 58). In 2011, 471,268 tourists landed in Réunion. Of the total number of visitors, almost half stayed with friends or family. Despite efforts to encourage more English-speaking and German tourists, the vast majority (81%) are from metropolitan France.

At present, tourism is the industry which holds the largest potential for growth. The limited amount of English spoken on the island is a stumbling block, although attempts are being made to increase English teaching in Réunion and to expose Réunionnais students to anglophone countries by sending them on exchange visits. And I have to say, in the 15 years that I have been visiting Réunion the amount of English spoken by those working in tourism has noticeably increased.

Also standing in the way of tourism development is the limited number of airlines flying to Réunion. Almost all long-haul flights are via France or Mauritius. Réunion is very under-marketed in the anglophone world and in the Far East; few people outside France even know of its existence.

Réunion’s food industry is flourishing. Foodstuffs exported are largely tropical fruits, spices and rum. Business is booming for the local gift parcel courier service, Colipays, which delivers parcels of fruit, sweets and flowers around the world. Most are sent to France, either by Réunionnais who have relatives there or by expatriate French.

Concerns like Coca-Cola arrived in the 1950s, to be followed later by other soft drinks, alcoholic beverages and a range of dairy products. Many are now manufactured locally under French patents.

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Mauritius - Industries

Reunion

Mauritius - Industries