In fact the economy of Mauritius still owes much to the Textile & Apparel sector, which represents 42% of our total merchandise exports and Rs25,7 billions foreign earnings in 2009.

Based on 2009 census, Mauritius has 200 manufacturing T&C enterprises in operation employing around 50,000 persons focusing principally on the following product lines namely:

• T-shirt / Polo Shirt;
• Bottoms /Trousers (including denim);
• Shirts / Blouses;
• Knitwear (pullovers, cardigans) ; and
• Swimwear & Lingerie.

Structure of the sector

The textiles and clothing sector can be considered as being made up of three categories:

(A)    Top 20 companies – 100% export oriented, about 60% of jobs and 80% of exports.
(B)    50 medium size companies – Mixed with some predominantly domestically oriented, some heavily subcontracting dependant and others more exports oriented.
(C)    About 130 small companies – 90% domestically oriented.