STRENGTHENING TRADE INDIA & SEYCHELLES

At the Seychelles Hospital pharmacy department, we import a significant portion of our generic medicines from India through the Health Care Agency procurement system. Indian WHO-GMP manufacturers — Cipla, Aurobindo, and Sun Pharma primarily — supply our therapeutic area needs at a fraction of the cost of European originator brands. Being Christian-majority, we have no Halal documentation requirements, which greatly simplifies our procurement process compared to neighbouring Maldives or Comoros. The Mumbai–Victoria sea route is impressively short — 4–5 days — but we use air freight (Air Seychelles via Dubai or Nairobi, or direct Air India) for temperature-sensitive or emergency stock. Bank of Baroda Seychelles handles our L/Cs for Indian suppliers and has been excellent — their understanding of Indian pharmaceutical exporters is unmatched on the island. For Indian pharma companies looking at Seychelles: our volumes are small but consistent, payment reliability is high, and the island's growing medical tourism sector means demand for quality generics is only increasing.

Managing food and beverage procurement for a luxury resort on Praslin with 45 villas and 3 restaurants is a complex exercise in island logistics. Indian products are foundational to our kitchen operations: basmati rice from Punjab (we specify a premium 1121 aged variety — the scent is incomparable), the spice range is entirely Indian-origin including fresh curry leaves we fly in weekly from Kerala, and our lentil and pulse selection comes from Rajasthan suppliers. Indian hospitality linen — we switched from an Egyptian cotton supplier to Welspun India four years ago for our pool towels and guest bathrobes, and the quality at the price point is exceptional. The Indian community in Victoria — the Singh and Patel families who've been here for generations — are our intermediaries and they have impeccable supplier relationships in Mumbai and Surat. My advice to Indian exporters: Seychelles resorts pay on time, buy in small quantities but frequently, and if you establish quality and reliability you will have a client for years. We don't change suppliers unless they let us down.

Indian Ocean Tuna Ltd (IOTL) at the Victoria port processes around 80,000 tonnes of tuna annually — yellowfin and skipjack — and our supply chain for canning materials and equipment has significant Indian content. SAIL Tinplate (Jharkhand) supplies food-grade tin-free steel for our can manufacturing — quality is consistent and we receive it within 6–7 days from Mumbai with standard Maersk container service. For maintenance equipment, we source centrifugal pumps (Kirloskar Brothers — we have 22 units deployed in our chilling and processing lines) and industrial refrigeration compressor parts through Indian distributors. Garware Technical Fibres supplies our net specifications for the artisanal fishing fleet association boats that bring fresh catch to our cannery — their IOTC-compliant specifications are documented correctly. India and Seychelles have a uniquely close relationship in this industry: when we need urgent parts, the 4-hour Air India flight from Mumbai means we can have components on site the next morning. No other continental supplier can match that response time.