Driest July in 120 years threatens key Mauritius sugar exports

The driest July in 120 years of records for Mauritius is jeopardizing sugar production that accounts for 10% of the Indian Ocean island’s exports and threatens to further strain its currency. 

The country had just 48 millimeters (1.9 inches) of rain last month, about 36% of the long-term average, the meteorological services said in a report this week. That’s bad news for cane farming that covers almost one-fifth of Mauritius’ total land mass. Growers were already struggling with water rationing. 

The record-breaking dry spell amplifies the devastating impact of severe weather on southern Africa’s mainland too this year. Farmers from Angola to Zimbabwe and Mozambique have suffered the worst drought in at least four decades. Flooding from the wettest July on record for parts of Cape Town at the region’s southern tip displaced thousands of people.

While Mauritius gets the most rain from January to March, a prolonged dry spell ahead of that will further affect cane and vegetable growers. The meteorological services cut its rain forecast through October to below normal for the nation of 1.26 million people. 

“The agricultural sector is already under stress” due to existing restrictions that allow cane growers just 36 hours of irrigation per week, Jacqueline Sauzier, general secretary of the Mauritius Chamber of Agriculture, said by phone Friday. “That doesn’t bode well for an industry that generates much needed foreign currency.”

Mauritius’ sugar-industry revenue increased 19% last year to 10.5 billion rupees ($227 million). Dam levels have already dipped to as low as 59% as the nation heads into its dry summer season. Typically, tropical storms and cyclones bring heavy rains from January.