Mauritius trade deficit widens as exports drops - stats office

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Mauritius' trade deficit widened by 15.9 percent in the third quarter from the same period last year, as exports from the Indian Ocean island nation tumbled, the statistics office said on Tuesday. The deficit, at 21.17 billion Mauritius rupees ($590 million), was 11.7 percent higher than the second quarter, Statistics Mauritius said in a statement. The value of exports fell 12.6 percent to 20.71 billion rupees after exports of machinery and transport equipment tumbled by 47.1 percent. Imports dropped 0.2 percent to 41.88 billion rupees. "Based on quarterly trends and indicative information from various sources, total exports for the year 2016 are expected to be around 88 billion rupees against 167.50 billion rupees for imports. Consequently, the trade deficit would be around 79.50 billion rupees," the agency said. ($1 = 35.9000 Mauritius rupees) (Reporting by Jean Paul Arouff; Editing by Katharine Houreld)