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and the bus sector constitutes a large part of the country’s re- tread market. (Over 2,000 busses).
Clark says it’s a remarkably big market for the size of the coun- try compared to, for example, Swaziland. “Mauritius is only about 85 km by 65 km. So, if you consider the size of a country like this, you will understand how relatively big the truck tyre market is for its size. The consumption of tyres here is quite high, compared to countries like Zambia and South Africa whe- re distances are longer.
“If you compare Mauritius with somewhere like Swaziland or Lesotho, they travel out of the country and do much longer distances. So, it’s a big factor here in Mauritius because tyres don’t get to run long distances. Therefore, mileages are lower, overall.”
However, despite covering a small land mass and being an island nation surrounded by the ocean, proper disposal of waste tyres has been challenging for Mauritius.
In 2020, more than 510,000 tons of solid waste were disposed of at the landfill site. Although the quantity of used tyres dis- posed of remains significant, 647.7 tonnes were retreaded in
2019. Yet at least 564 tonnes of rubber tyres were in landfills the same year.
This prompted the government to encourage recycling waste tyres and decided that tyre retreading would be classified as a recycling activity in the Budget Speech 2020/21. The gover- nment also prohibits the importation of tyre casings and se- cond-hand and retreaded tyres into the country.
These policies became a huge market opportunity for retrea- ders like Compagnie Mauricienne De Commerce Ltd, the Em- car Group, Tyre Track, Universal Tyres and Eastern Mix.
However, negative perceptions, lack of new technology, and ignorance make it difficult for customers to support retreads. Clark says most customers “see tyre retreading as a poor practi- ce; they believe it’s somewhat unsafe and unreliable.
“Others see some benefits, but they need a lot of education. A lot of fieldwork is needed to educate them. The word education is probably the biggest challenge here. The responsibility lies on the retreader to train customers, taking them through the re- treading factories and showing them how a tyre is retreaded, as well as the environmental and cost-saving benefits.”
COUNTRY
REPORT - MAURITIUS