WORLD TRADE G/STR/N/2/MUS
G/STR/N/3/MUS
ORGANIZATION 23May1997
(97-2172)
Original: English Working Party on
State Trading Enterprises
STATE TRADING
Updating Notification Pursuant toArticle XVII:4(a) oftheGATT 1994 and
Paragraph 1oftheUnderstanding ontheInterpretation ofArticle XVII
MAURITIUS
Thefollowing communication, dated 13May1997, hasbeenreceived from thePermanent
Mission ofMauritius.
_______________
Mauritius ishereby submitting updating notifications ofthechanges which haveoccurred in
itsstatetrading activities. Thenotification covers thefollowing enterprises:
Page
1. TheState Trading Corporation ....................................2
2. TheAgricultural Marketing Board .................................2
3. TheTeaBoard ..............................................2
4. TheTobacco Board ...........................................2
5. TheMeat Authority ..........................................3G/STR/N/2/MUS
G/STR/N/3/MUS
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1. TheState Trading Corporation
There hasbeennochange intheactivities oftheState Trading Corporation since lastyear.
2. TheAgricultural Marketing Board
Theactivities oftheAgricultural Marketing Board haveremained thesame aslastyear.
Thefollowing statistical information fortheyear1995 isadded:
1995
Imports (Tons) Value
MauRs.million
Ware potatoes 6,984 5.6
Mother seedpotatoes 60 1.7
Seedpotatoes forware
production4,458 10.2
Garlic 415 11.1
Maize 60,240 170.9
Turmeric 122 1.4
Cardamons 7.5 1.5
Onions 4,646 25.7
3. TheTeaBoard
Theonlymodification proposed istostatethereason andpurpose asfollows:
(a) Reason andpurpose
TheTeaBoard isaregulatory body. Itspurpose istocontrol theactivities oftheTea
Industry inMauritius andarbitrate disputes ifany. Itceased tobeatrading enterprise with
thecollapse oftheSoviet block.
4. TheTobacco Board
Thefollowing statistical information fortheyear1995 isadded:
1995
Quantity Kg. Value MauRs.
Imports 62,800 8,975,717
National production 1,065,392 69,591,220G/STR/N/2/MUS
G/STR/N/3/MUS
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There arealsocertain changes inparagraph 2(a)and2(b)which areasfollows:
(a) Reason andpurpose
TheTobacco Board wassetupin1932 tocontrol andregulate theproduction ofleaf
tobacco inMauritius. Thelocalproduction isusedfordomestic consumption only. Tobacco
growersneedtoregisterthemselveswiththeBoardandaregrantedannualquotasforproduction.
Theguaranteed pricepaidtogrowers iscalculated onthebasisofproduction costsandbecause
oftherelatively highcostofinputs (labour, fertilizer, chemicals, etc.), domestic prices tend
tobehigher thanworld market prices. TheBoard hashowever setupandimplemented
successfully anumber ofcostreducing schemes withaviewtoreducing production costs.
(b) Description andfunctioning
Presently there isnoexport ofleaftobacco from Mauritius.
TheBoard doesnotdealwithimports, butthemanufacturer regularly imports leaf
tobacco forblending purposes; permission toimport isgranted onrequest.
There isonlyonecigarette manufacturer whopurchases thedomestic production from
theBoard. Theproduction quotas allocated bytheBoard arebased ontherequirements of
themanufacturer asconveyed before thestartofacropyear.
Thequantities imported depend onthedemand forandthesaleofcertain brands of
cigarettes where ablend ofimported tobacco isrequired.
5. TheMeat Authority
There aresome changes under thesub-title Discipline andFunctioning:
Discipline andFunctioning
Assuch, itoperates theonlyabattoir inthecountry since1978forcattle, deer,sheep andgoats.
Asfrom September 1996, theimportation oflivestock forslaughter hasbeen liberalized.
Accordingly, theMeat Authority isnot,forthetimebeing importing livestock forslaughter. This
isbeing donebybutchers andother companies. Breeders areselling theircattle directly tothebutchers
andtheprice isdetermined bytheforces ofthemarket.
TheMeatAuthorityisactuallyinvolvedintheslaughteroflivestockanddistributionofcarcasses
andoffaltothevarious licensed salepoints.
TheAuthority isnowexpected toplayamore preponderant roleasaregulatory agent, and
details ofsuchregulatory functions oftheAuthority arebeing worked outpresently.