Economy of the Meeting

Between 1993 and 2001, the Réunion is the French Région by far which knew the fastest economic growth. The average growth rate of its economy was of 4,4% per annum for this period. The GDP per capita of the island remains nevertheless weakest of France, in particular because of its demography.

Branches of industry

Agriculture

; The cane with sugar: A long time, the economy of the Réunion was not based that on the die of the Canne to sugar since the beginning of the 19th century, at which time it supplanted the culture of the coffee. It is at the origin of the development of the great industry groups réunionnais like Bourbon or French Quartier.

Today, between 26 and 30 thousands of hectares are occupied by this culture, which gets even more than 12.000 direct uses and indirect. The push of the urbanization is one as of the most important threats which weighs on the die canes with the Meeting. Another serious threat is the reduction in the course of the national and European subsidies with the sector.

In 2004, in any case, two million tons of cane was collected. They make it possible to produce 220.000 tons of sugar. Many secondary products are developed. The Bagasse is used for the thermal production of energy (25% of the electricity of the island). The 70.000 tons of Mélasse produced each year could as for them be used to obtain 2.900 tons of Bioéthanol, in the long term.

; Other cultures of the island: Among the other cultures relatively developed on the island, one will quote those of the Ananas, the Géranium or the Vanille, vanilla whose island was formerly the first producer in the world, thanks to the discovery of Edmond Albius.

There are also the plantations of litchis, whose export and marketing were partially stopped because of the not held promises of aid State.

Fishing

Fishing is a sector under development full, because of exploitation by the armaments réunionnais fishing resources of the southern and antarctic Lands French, far in the south from the island. The légine and the lobster are the principal products fished in this zone.

Tourism

The Tourism, the data processing and more generally the whole of the tertiary sector dominate local economic fabric and provide the greatest number of employment.

In 2004, the island accommodated 430.000 external tourists. The customers are characterized by the importance from the number of tourists affinitaires, i.e. come to see of the family or the friends residing on the spot.

Consumption

The households réunionnais spent nearly 7 billion euros in 2004, against 3,8 billion in 1993. This rise is to be put on the account of the strong growth of the incomes and the social security benefits: SMIC increased more quickly than in metropolis, for example. The minimum wage was lower by 20% than the national rate, just as the social security benefits, until 1995. On this date, the smic was aligned. She is also explained by the development of the loans: incur consumer credits passed from 450 million euros in 1995 to 1,3 billion euros in 2004.

The increase in the expenditure is accompanied by a reassignment. The share of the food expenditure in the household budget decreased with the profit of those of the expenditure of Logement, inter alia elements, in particular the car more often personalized than in metropolis.

The regional granting of sea is of 2,5% and 2% are assigned to the communes, but VAT is lower of 11 points than that of the metropolis.

Some figures

  • the Meeting has the rate of most important RMistes of France with 20% of the population concerning RMI (source Sénat 2002). In 2004, the number of recipients exceeds the 76.000. 200.000 people live about it, that is to say more of the quarter of the total population.

Despite everything, the social inequalities decrease thanks to various helps and at the constant rate/rhythm of progression of the economy.

  • Gross domestic product: 8.641 Million Euros (INSEE 2004)
  • Growth rate: 5.3% /an (INSEE 2004)
  • Many companies at January 1st, 2004: 29.150 (INSEE 2004)
  • Active population in 2003 (within the meaning of the the ILO): 302.566 (INSEE 2004)
  • Unemployment rate in 2003: 32.9% (against 9.6 in Metropolitan France) (INSEE 2004)

The plants for bagasse-coal on the whole produce 45% of the electricity of the island.

See too

Internal bonds

External bonds

  • Development agency of the Meeting
  • ANPE of the Meeting
  • DRCE of the Meeting
  • INSEE of the Meeting
  • Heading Economy of the '' Journal of the Island of the Meeting ''

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