Mauritius expects lychee output this year to be twice more than what it recorded last year.

Kreepallo Sunghoon, secretary of the small farmers association of Mauritius, expects an output of 13,000-15,000 metric tons, against 6,000 tons in 2015. According to the official, between 6,000 and 7,000 tons of lychees will be directed to the local market while 800 to 1,000 tons are to be exported to Europe, China, India, Russia and Arab markets.

Welcoming the performance, a record, Sunghoon however pointed out some drawbacks in the sector. “Lychees grown in Mauritius are the first to flower and the first on the market, but we are not able to compete with major international producers in terms of volume and price,” he said.

He added that yield losses should stand around 7,000 tons due to damage to crops harvested in orchards. He thus asked the government to prevent this by protecting farmers.  

According to some observers, revenues lost to these damages paired with those at the farming stage (manual labor, fertilizer-application and irrigation) could reach 50,000 rupees ($1,388) per acre (0.40 ha). As a result, farmers’ revenues are slightly lower.