Ravatomanga, a close ally of former president Andry Rajoelina, long dominated Madagascar's lychee trade through his company Sodiat.
At the port of Tamatave at the end of last month, workers began loading the first of three vessels bound for Europe. Heavy storms slowed operations because pallets could not be moved in the rain, as exporters said cardboard boxes must remain dry to protect the fruit. Exporters reported favourable crop conditions this season, citing 28 mm fruit size, uniform ripeness and yields above expectations. One exporter told RFI's Sarah Tétaud, "The 20,000-tonne lychee mark will easily be reached." Payments to collectors and producers now exceed 2,000 ariary per kilo, around US$0.38.
A lychee processing station was destroyed by fire the day before its scheduled opening. Exporters said the cause is still unknown. At the same time, investigators from Madagascar's Independent Anticorruption Bureau arrived in Tamatave, which handles about 80 percent of the country's maritime cargo, to examine 10 years of financial flows. Exporters said they were asked to provide contracts, bank statements, and accounting records.
The probe focuses on LTC, a Mauritius-based shell company that handled payments between Malagasy exporters and foreign importers. Exporters said Ravatomanga had ties to the company. Investigators aim to understand possible tax evasion, money movements, and whether kickbacks were used. One exporter said, "Let those who played pay the heavy price." Another added, "Everyone had to collaborate with Mamy. We had no choice."
Exporters requested more time to focus on the six main loading days. One exporter said these days are "extremely important for Madagascar's east coast."
In a separate industry report, exporters described how Sodiat dominated the sector for years. They said Ravatomanga imposed his rules from 2009 onward and took the largest share of quotas. On 23 October, the day before his arrest in Mauritius, exporters said he phoned several operators, warning, "Do not try to touch even a single kilogram of lychees from my quotas." The next day, the Lychee Exporters Group voted unanimously to exclude Sodiat. Narson Rafidimanana said, "Shipowners and importers no longer want to hear about Sodiat. We do not want to be linked to all his wrongdoing." He added that the move lifted a long-standing fear within the group.
Members redistributed Sodiat's quotas among 27 exporters, with smaller operators receiving 100 tons and larger ones 25 tons.
Mauritius' Financial Crimes Commission has sought cooperation from Transparency Mauritius. Madagascar's Justice Ministry suspended two prosecutors after one said there were no proceedings against Ravatomanga, despite complaints on record.
Exporters reinstated air freight for early lychees, previously blocked under Ravatomanga, allowing fruit to leave about 10 days before the maritime campaign. With the investigation, the processing station fire, and questions around LTC, exporters said this season is different and that future conditions will depend on the outcomes of ongoing inquiries.
Source: rfi
