Textile industry and clothing sector has played a key role in the advancement and is the main factor of economic growth in the Mauritian economy. 53% of overseas sales and 36% of total exports comes from the export-oriented enterprises (EOE). Therefore, keeping that in mind, Mauritius government has devised a plan that targets the manufacturing industry and aims to help the country bounce back and overcome the obstacles that the country faced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ‘Industrial Policy and Strategic Plan (IPSP) for 2020-25’ will have the textile sector invest in the latest technology and uses it to leverage local design talent. Shirts, cardigans, trousers and pullover will be the main products for exports. The plan came together with the help of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), industrial development, the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD) and cooperatives ministry.
Soomilduth Bholah, Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, defines the plan as “a policy framework that should be implemented to bring about transformational changes.”
Common problems will arise and the industry will have to overcome these. For example, lack of talented local labor, expatriates for key posts, excessive local labour costs and low productivity. Few of these proposals are to be financed by a Modernisation Investment Support Fund, which “would facilitate product and process diversification, shift to higher value-added production, technology upgrading and R&D activities.” Operations will be managed by the Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives ministry and spend up to MUR4.4bn (US$111m) until 2025.
Protocols will be addressed to “ensure that the sector sustains its momentum and increase its resilience amidst the backdrop of emerging and unpredicted challenges associated with the outbreak of Covid-19.”
