{"id":1040,"date":"2018-01-23T11:46:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-23T11:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefreezoneblog.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/23\/success-story-of-free-trade-zones-in\/"},"modified":"2018-01-23T11:46:00","modified_gmt":"2018-01-23T11:46:00","slug":"success-story-of-free-trade-zones-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefreezonechannel.com\/old\/success-story-of-free-trade-zones-in\/","title":{"rendered":"SUCCESS STORY OF FREE TRADE ZONES IN AFRICA: FOCUS ON MAURITIUS."},"content":{"rendered":"
\nSeveral African countries were pioneers in using
\nFree Zones as economic development tools. Liberia and Senegal, for example
\nestablished Export Processing Zones in the early 1970s. In 1981, Mauritius
\nstarted a single factory-based EPZ program whose prominence and success led to
\na wave of zone development throughout the continent in the late 1980s in East,
\nSouthern and West Africa. Uganda is currently on the same model in their
\nexploration of the scheme.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nMauritius has become the model of a successful EPZ
\nprogramme in Africa; it provides important lessons for other EPZs. Its
\nimportance in the economy is indicated by the growing share of EPZ\u2019s export in
\ntotal exports which rose from 25% in 1978 to over 65% by 1998. Over the years
\nthere has been a continuous increase in the share of value added by EPZs in
\ntotal manufacturing which by 1999 reached over 50% of 13% of total  Gross Domestic Product (GDP). One of
\nthe most important economic benefits of the EPZ programme has been the
\ndiversification of the Mauritian economy. <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\nIn the mid-1960s, exports from
\nMauritius consisted solely on agricultural goods, primarily sugarcane,
\naccounting for about 70% of all exports. By 1990 and as a result of EPZs,
\nMauritius exports a variety of manufactures with sugar\u2019s share having fallen to
\n29.6% of total exports, while EPZ exports rose from 31% to 64% during the same
\nperiod. This increase in the export of manufactured goods has played a critical
\nrole in reducing the nation\u2019s vulnerability to price fluctuations associated
\nwith primary commodity exports. An analysis by country of destination shows that
\n66% of the exports were to countries of European Union spurred by the
\nfavourable conditions offered by the Lome convention.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAn examination of the factors behind the success of
\nMauritius suggest that the following played a key role:<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

    \n
  • The desire to use Mauritius\u2019s membership
    \nof the Lome Conventions to get preferential access to the EU market;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
    • Cultural ties play a critical role in
      \nattracting investors from Hong Kong for a safe haven to invest their capital
      \nfollowing the British-Chinese agreement to revert Hong Kong to China in 1997;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      <\/p>\n

        \n
      •  Quota-free access to US markets during
        \nthe early stages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        <\/p>\n

          \n
        • The existence of a flexible and
          \nsupportive government, in conjunction with political and social stability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          \nMauritius is an outstanding example of success in
          \nthe African region. It managed to utilize a favourable incentive package,
          \nconsequential on duty free access to the European Community under the Lome
          \nConvention.<\/div>\n
          \n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Several African countries were pioneers in using Free Zones as economic development tools. Liberia and Senegal, for example established Export Processing Zones in the early 1970s. In 1981, Mauritius started a single factory-based EPZ program whose prominence and success led to a wave of zone development throughout the continent in the late 1980s in East, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[13,92,93,59,15,94,95],"class_list":["post-1040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-economy","tag-epz-programme","tag-export","tag-export-processing-zones","tag-free-trade-zone","tag-lome-convention","tag-mauritius","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"yoast_head":"\nSUCCESS STORY OF FREE TRADE ZONES IN AFRICA: FOCUS ON MAURITIUS. - The Freezone Channel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thefreezonechannel.com\/old\/success-story-of-free-trade-zones-in\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SUCCESS STORY OF FREE TRADE ZONES IN AFRICA: FOCUS ON MAURITIUS. - The Freezone Channel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Several African countries were pioneers in using Free Zones as economic development tools. 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