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ket share of 10.5 percent, followed by South Africa (10.4 per-
cent), India (8.8 percent), Spain (6.1 percent), and Australia
(5.6 percent). Products imported included rice, meat and fish,
certain fruits (oranges, mandarins, and grapes), pulses, milk
and dairy products, fresh and frozen vegetables, coffee, tea
and spices, cereals, oil, beverages, wheat, and food prepara-
tions. Mauritius also imports some items to produce animal feed,
such as corn and oil cake and solid residues from soybean oil
extraction, mostly from Argentina.The government planned to
reduce the dependency on imported food by promoting local
crops, agro-processing, and smart agriculture.In the 2020-2021
budget, the government announced the development of a
National Agri-Food Development Program that aims to reduce
dependence on imports. A centralized land bank was set up to
supply land for agricultural production. Customs duty on imported
sugar was increased from 80 percent to 100 percent. In the
2021-2022 budget, the government announced investments
of $122 million in a Modernization and Transformation Fund to
modernize agriculture and fisheries. A major issue in Mauritius
is the excessive use of pesticides by farmers. Over the past