Seychelles flag Seychelles: Economic and Political Overview

Foreign trade figures of the Seychelles

Foreign Trade in Figures

The Archipelago of Seychelles is very open to trade, with a trade-to-GDP ratio of 153% (World Bank, latest data available). The country is a member of COMESA (the Common Market of East and South Africa) and of the WTO since 2015. Customs duties remain comparatively high in Seychelles, especially in the fishing sector. In addition, while the country does not have major trade barriers, the lack of infrastructure also remains an important obstacle to trade. The government has acted to encourage foreign trade, including tax incentives for the tourism industry and the reduction of customs procedures at ports. To consult the list of trade agreements, refer to the website of the Seychelles Trade Portal. Almost 85% of exports are made of prepared or preserved fish, followed by ships (2.5%) and petroleum oils (2.1%); while the country mostly imports machinery (8.8%), electrical machinery (8.7%), fish (6.7%), ships (5.7%), and mineral fuels (5.4% - data ITC 2021).

Seychelles’ largest clients are France (21.7% of total exports), Japan (11.4%), the United Kingdom (10.2%), Mauritius (9.4%), Italy (6.4%), and Spain (5.8%); whereas its main suppliers are the United Arab Emirates (14.6% of total imports), Spain (10.8%), China (9.2%), South Africa (7.9%), and France (7.1% - ITC 2021).
 
The country has a structural trade deficit, and the trend is expected to continue in future years. According to WTO, exports of goods stood at USD 464 million (an increase of 7.4% year-on-year) in 2021, against USD 1.1 billion of imports (+12.8 y-o-y%). Concerning services, the country is a net exporter thanks to its tourism activities: in 2021, exports totalled USD 892 billion against USD 476 million in imports. Data from the World Bank shows that in 2021 the archipelago’s trade deficit stood at 8.1% of its GDP (up from 5.2% recorded one year earlier). Preliminary data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that in 2022, domestic exports were valued at SCR 5,4 billion (6.5% higher than in 2020), whereas imports stood at SCR 4,568.1 million (-15.6% vis-à-vis one year earlier, of which 87.7% comprised canned tuna), whereas imports stood at SCR 19,456 billion (+2.6%).

 
Foreign Trade Values 20182019202020212022
Imports of Goods (million USD) 1,2711,1671,0041,1331,364
Exports of Goods (million USD) 569518432464537
Imports of Services (million USD) 874911500798995
Exports of Services (million USD) 1,5731,6017671,2351,681

Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Indicators 20182019202020212022
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) 208.7197.0179.3235.8233.1
Trade Balance (million USD) -615-631-359-507-731
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) 8460-92-70-51
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) 3.20.8-15.57.73.1
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) 2.13.1-25.79.99.1
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 110.9103.4101.6124.3121.6
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 97.893.577.7111.5111.5

Source: World Bank ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Forecasts 20232024 (e)2025 (e)2026 (e)2027 (e)
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) 1.43.314.22.83.2
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) 3.34.48.84.94.5

Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data

Note: (e) Estimated Data

 
International Economic Cooperation
Member of SADC - Southern African Development Community

Member of COMESA - Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa

 

Main Partner Countries

Main Customers
(% of Exports)
2021
Gibraltar 33.0%
Cayman Islands 15.4%
Bermuda 12.0%
Belize 9.1%
France 7.0%
See More Countries 23.5%
Main Suppliers
(% of Imports)
2021
South Africa 18.7%
Netherlands 16.4%
United Arab Emirates 15.8%
Italy 14.7%
France 7.6%
See More Countries 26.8%

Source: Comtrade, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

Main Products

2.0 bn USD of products exported in 2021
Yachts and other vessels for pleasure or sports;...Yachts and other vessels for pleasure or sports; rowing boats and canoes 72.4%
Prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar...Prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs 13.9%
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals 5.6%
Frozen fish (excl. fish fillets and other fish...Frozen fish (excl. fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304) 5.1%
Flours, meals and pellets, of meat or meat offal,...Flours, meals and pellets, of meat or meat offal, of fish or of crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates, unfit for human consumption; greaves 0.6%
See More Products 2.5%
1.9 bn USD of products imported in 2021
Yachts and other vessels for pleasure or sports;...Yachts and other vessels for pleasure or sports; rowing boats and canoes 31.7%
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals 10.3%
Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles...Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, motor vehicles for the transport of goods and special purpose motor vehicles of heading 8701 to 8705, n.e.s. 8.1%
Frozen fish (excl. fish fillets and other fish...Frozen fish (excl. fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304) 6.7%
Oilcake and other solid residues, whether or not...Oilcake and other solid residues, whether or not ground or in the form of pellets, resulting from the extraction of vegetable fats or oils (excl. from soya-bean oil and groundnut oil) 5.0%
See More Products 38.3%

Source: Comtrade, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

To go further, check out our service Import Export Flows.

 

Main Services

2.3 bn USD of services exported in 2022
49.01%
41.62%
8.15%
0.72%
0.45%
0.06%
n/a%
1.0 bn USD of services imported in 2022
63.94%
23.90%
5.36%
4.35%
0.98%
0.95%
0.30%
0.22%
n/a%
n/a%

Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

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Latest Update: November 2023