Food imports (% of merchandise imports) in Mauritius
Mauritius: Food imports (% of merchandise imports) was 22.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Food imports in Mauritius, 1970–2025
Source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division. Measured in % of merchandise imports.
Analysis
Mauritius recorded 22.4% for food imports in 2025.
That represents a change of up 5.5% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, food imports in Mauritius peaked at 36.4% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 10.2%, in 1988.
Mauritius ranks 48th of 196 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
Food imports (% of merchandise imports) in Mauritius, year by year
| Year | % of merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 36.4% | — |
| 1971 | 34.0% | -6.5% |
| 1972 | 30.3% | -10.9% |
| 1973 | 27.5% | -9.3% |
| 1974 | 33.5% | +22.2% |
| 1975 | 26.7% | -20.4% |
| 1976 | 24.2% | -9.3% |
| 1977 | 23.7% | -2.0% |
| 1978 | 26.5% | +11.5% |
| 1988 | 10.2% | -61.3% |
| 1989 | 12.5% | +22.1% |
| 1990 | 12.4% | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 12.3% | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 13.1% | +6.1% |
| 1993 | 13.9% | +5.9% |
| 1994 | 14.2% | +2.2% |
| 1995 | 16.6% | +17.3% |
| 1996 | 16.2% | -2.4% |
| 1997 | 14.9% | -8.1% |
| 1998 | 15.7% | +5.6% |
| 1999 | 13.8% | -12.5% |
| 2000 | 14.2% | +3.4% |
| 2001 | 15.7% | +10.6% |
| 2002 | 18.9% | +20.3% |
| 2003 | 17.4% | -7.9% |
| 2004 | 17.5% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 16.7% | -4.8% |
| 2006 | 16.5% | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 18.8% | +14.3% |
| 2008 | 20.9% | +10.9% |
| 2009 | 21.6% | +3.3% |
| 2010 | 21.0% | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 21.2% | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 21.5% | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 22.0% | +2.6% |
| 2014 | 21.2% | -3.9% |
| 2015 | 22.0% | +3.6% |
| 2016 | 24.2% | +10.0% |
| 2017 | 24.0% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 21.0% | -12.4% |
| 2019 | 20.8% | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 24.7% | +19.2% |
| 2021 | 21.6% | -12.7% |
| 2022 | 21.4% | -1.2% |
| 2023 | 22.5% | +5.4% |
| 2024 | 21.2% | -5.7% |
| 2025 | 22.4% | +5.5% |
Mauritius compared with similar countries
- Mauritius's 22.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 15.4%, 1.5× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Mauritius's 22.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 21.1%, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Food imports (% of merchandise imports) in Mauritius changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | -61.3% | 26.5% | 10.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 29.2% | 23.7% | 36.4% | 9 |
| 1980s | 11.4% | 10.2% | 12.5% | 2 |
| 1990s | 14.3% | 12.3% | 16.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.8% | 14.2% | 21.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.9% | 20.8% | 24.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.3% | 21.2% | 24.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Mauritius
More private sector data for Mauritius
- Merchandise trade 57.4% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 52.0% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 6.94 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 2.28 billion current US$ (2024)
- Food exports 52.3% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 45.1% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 2.34 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 4.19 billion current US$ (2024)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,883 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1449 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is food imports in Mauritius?
- Food imports in Mauritius was 22.4% in 2025, according to Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division.
- What is the highest food imports recorded in Mauritius?
- The highest recorded value was 36.4% in 1970.
- What is the lowest food imports recorded in Mauritius?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.2% in 1988.
- How does Mauritius rank for food imports?
- Mauritius ranks 48th out of 196 countries with data for 2025.
- Is food imports rising or falling in Mauritius?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mauritius data come from?
- The figures come from Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division, published as part of Food imports (% of merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Food comprises the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 0 (food and live animals), 1 (beverages and tobacco), and 4 (animal and vegetable oils and fats) and division 22 (oil seeds, oil nuts, and oil kernels). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise imports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a non-resident and a resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e.