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Réunion — La Réunion — is a French Overseas Territory and EU Outermost Region in the Indian Ocean, 680 kilometres east of top spice and agricultural exporters in Madagascar. As an integral part of France and the European Union, Réunion offers international buyers an extraordinary combination: the agricultural biodiversity and volcanic terroir of a tropical Indian Ocean island, with the legal certainty, food safety standards, and trade frameworks of a European jurisdiction. Exports to mainland France are internal EU trade. Exports to third countries are treated as EU-origin goods. French and EU law apply in full.
The island's most commercially significant agricultural export is Géranium Bourbon essential oil — a rose-scented geranium oil cultivated on high plateaus at 800–1,500 metres altitude that has been the benchmark for global perfumery since 1870. Purchased by LVMH, Givaudan, Firmenich, Symrise, and IFF, Réunion Géranium Bourbon carries a French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) and a European PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) — among the few essential oils in the world to hold this geographic protection. Beyond geranium oil, Réunion exports Bourbon vanilla — the variety whose hand-pollination technique was invented on the island in 1841 and later carried to vanilla and ylang-ylang exporters in Comoros and other Indian Ocean islands where it remains the foundation of their agricultural identity today — lychee (4,000–5,000 tonnes exported to France annually), fresh mango, pineapple, passion fruit, and specialty rhum agricole from sugarcane.
Status: French Overseas Territory (Département & EU Outermost Region) | Location: Indian Ocean, 680km east of Madagascar | Population: ~900,000 | Currency: Euro (EUR) | Regulatory Framework: French & EU Law | Main Port: Port Réunion (Le Port, near Saint-Denis) | Key Exports: Géranium Bourbon EO (PDO), Bourbon Vanilla, Lychee, Mango, Rhum Agricole | Export Market: France (internal EU trade) + EU + Global (EU-origin)
Réunion's specialty agricultural exports — geranium oil, vanilla, lychee, and rhum agricole — each represent a distinct crop-specific quality niche. Our crop-specific export guides for African producers provide detailed compliance frameworks for tropical fruit and specialty ingredient exports that are directly applicable to Réunion's fresh produce supply chains entering EU and third-country markets.
| Product | Key Growing Zone | Primary Markets | Key Compliance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Géranium Bourbon Essential Oil (PDO) | Plaine des Cafres, Tampon, Saint-Joseph (800–1,500m) | LVMH, Givaudan, Firmenich, IFF, Symrise | AOC/PDO Certificate, SCEQAOB Certification, GC/MS Analysis |
| Bourbon Vanilla | East Coast — Sainte-Marie, Sainte-Suzanne, Bras-Panon | EU Luxury Food, Perfume Houses, USA Artisan Food | PDO Certificate (pathway), Certificate of Origin, EU Food Standard |
| Lychee (Mauritius variety & local) | East & Southeast Réunion (November–January harvest) | France (main), Belgium, Germany, Switzerland | Phytosanitary Cert (DAAF), TRACES NT, EU MRL, Cold Chain |
| Mango, Pineapple & Passion Fruit | West Coast lowlands (Sainte-Gilles, Saint-Paul) | France, EU diaspora | Phytosanitary Cert (DAAF), TRACES NT, EU MRL |
SICA is the primary Réunion cooperative coordinating Géranium Bourbon essential oil production and marketing, representing the island's network of geranium growers concentrated on the high plateaus of Tampon, Les Makes, and Plaine des Cafres at 800–1,500m altitude. The cooperative manages the AOC certification process, GC/MS (gas chromatography–mass spectrometry) quality analysis, and marketing to international perfume ingredient buyers.
Géranium Bourbon oil from SICA is supplied to the world's most prestigious perfume houses and flavour ingredient companies. The oil's specific aromatic profile — confirmed by GC/MS showing citronellol ≥20%, geraniol ≥15%, linalool ≥12% — is the chemical fingerprint required by buyers to verify authentic Réunion-origin oil versus Chinese or Egyptian alternatives. It takes 400 kg of plant material to produce 500ml of oil, justifying premium pricing of EUR 80–150 per kg.
Distillerie Savanna produces premium aged rhum agricole (rum from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses) under the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée 'Rhum de La Réunion'. Réunion rhum agricole — like Martinique's celebrated AOC rhum — is made exclusively from fresh sugarcane juice, producing a rum with a distinctively grassy, complex, terroir-driven character that distinguishes it from industrial rum styles.
Savanna's aged expressions (VSOP, XO, and single-cask releases) are exported to specialist rum retailers and distributors in France, Belgium, Germany, and the UK. Certified organic variants are produced using sugarcane grown without synthetic pesticides. AOC certification, a certificate of origin, and EU food-grade analysis accompany all export bottles. Annual export volumes are 80,000–120,000 bottles across all expressions.
CVBR represents Réunion's vanilla producers, cultivating Vanilla planifolia vines using the hand-pollination technique invented by Edmond Albius on this very island in 1841. Réunion Bourbon vanilla is considered among the world's finest — thick, oily, aromatic pods with high vanillin content (≥1.6% dry weight) and a complex floral-creamy-woody scent profile valued by Michelin-starred pastry chefs and luxury perfume houses.
Annual production is 15–30 tonnes of cured vanilla pods, a fraction of Madagascar's commercial volume but targeting a distinct premium segment. PDO designation for 'Vanille Bourbon de La Réunion' is under development. Export customers include French luxury food manufacturers (Fauchon, Ladurée), Réunion-based chocolate companies, and US artisan vanilla importers. Pods are shipped in airtight glass vials and vacuum-sealed foil packaging.
LRE is Réunion's primary fresh lychee export coordinator, managing the November–January lychee harvest season when Réunion's East Coast orchards yield the island's famous Mauritius variety lychee — the same heirloom cultivar also grown by fresh produce exporters in Mauritius, distinguished by its thick protective skin, small seed, and intensely sweet, rose-scented flesh. Réunion lychee is air-freighted to France weekly throughout the December–January peak season on Air France and Corsair cargo services, arriving in Paris-Roissy within 9 hours of harvest.
Annual lychee export to mainland France is approximately 4,000–5,000 tonnes, making it Réunion's most significant fresh fruit export by volume. LRE coordinates DAAF (Direction de l'Alimentation, de l'Agriculture et de la Forêt) phytosanitary certification, TRACES NT prior notification filing, and cold chain documentation for all export consignments. Packing in 2 kg and 5 kg retail-ready clamshell boxes is standard for French supermarket retailers.
MRE coordinates the export of Réunion's premium mangoes — particularly the José, Cogshall, and Irwin varieties grown in the warm, dry western coastal zone from Saint-Gilles to Saint-Paul. Réunion mangoes develop exceptional sugar content (Brix 16–20+) in the Indian Ocean sunshine, with a distinctive floral aroma that differentiates them from West African or South American mangoes in French specialty markets.
Fresh mangoes are harvested at 75–80% ripeness, wax-coated for shelf life extension, packed in 4 kg gift boxes and 12 kg export cartons, and air-freighted to mainland France from Roland Garros International Airport (RUN) in Saint-Denis. DAAF phytosanitary certificates and TRACES NT prior notifications are filed for all France-bound shipments. Annual export volumes are 800–1,200 tonnes to French specialty retailers and tropical fruit distributors.
AVR represents producers of the Victoria pineapple — a small, intensely sweet variety unique to Réunion and Mauritius, cultivated at 400–700m altitude on the Plaine des Palmistes plateau. The Victoria pineapple is significantly sweeter (Brix 14–17) and more aromatic than the dominant Costa Rican MD2 variety, with a jewel-like golden flesh and negligible 'black eyes', making it a natural premium product for French specialty retailers.
Annual production is approximately 8,000 tonnes of Victoria pineapple, of which 20–25% is exported to mainland France. A PDO designation for 'Ananas Victoria de La Réunion' was granted in 2010, providing geographic protection for Réunion-grown Victoria pineapples. DAAF phytosanitary certification and TRACES NT notifications accompany all export consignments.
BCR produces Café Bourbon Pointu — Réunion's legendary heirloom Arabica coffee, derived from the original Bourbon Arabica variety brought to the island in 1715. Considered by some to be the finest and rarest coffee in the world, Bourbon Pointu (named for its pointed bean shape) was revived in the 1990s after near-extinction. It holds an AOC designation and produces a cup profile of extraordinary elegance: light body, delicate floral aromatics, crystalline acidity, and notes of jasmine and red fruit.
Annual production is fewer than 2 tonnes — one of the world's smallest commercial coffee productions. Café Bourbon Pointu prices regularly reach EUR 100–200 per kg at retail, making it one of the world's most expensive coffees. EU specialty coffee buyers evaluating Réunion's Bourbon Pointu as an ultra-premium single-origin often benchmark it against the washed and natural Arabica varieties from top fresh produce exporters in Kenya, where the continent's most commercially significant Arabica supply chains are centred. SCA cup scores consistently exceed 90 points.
PFRE coordinates the export of Réunion's passion fruit varieties — particularly the maracuja (yellow passion fruit, Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa) and grenadella (purple passion fruit) — to France and EU specialty food manufacturers. Réunion passion fruit is used by French artisan jam producers, pastry chefs, and beverage manufacturers for its exceptionally aromatic, concentrated juice.
Fresh passion fruit is air-freighted to France in 5 kg ventilated boxes. Passion fruit juice concentrate (Brix 15–18°) is exported to French and Belgian food manufacturing companies. DAAF phytosanitary certificates and TRACES NT prior notifications accompany all fresh fruit consignments. Annual fresh export volume is 300–500 tonnes.
HER produces a range of specialty essential oils from Réunion's diverse botanical heritage beyond geranium: vetiver from grassland roots, ylang-ylang from coastal tropical forest, turmeric CO2 extract, and various aromatic herbs from the island's highland zones. These secondary essential oils complement the Géranium Bourbon line for perfume and aromatherapy buyers seeking complete Indian Ocean fragrance sourcing from a single island origin.
Vetiver oil (Vetiveria zizanioides, cedarwood-smoky-earthy aroma) is exported to French and Swiss perfumers. Ylang-ylang — the same floral-sweet species whose cultivation defines the export profile of ylang-ylang and spice exporters in Mayotte — is exported to major French and German perfume houses. All oils are certified by SCEQAOB (the official Réunion essential oil certification body) and carry EU organic certification for organically produced variants.
RAAR produces artisanal 'rhum arrangé' — rum infused with tropical fruits, vanilla, and spices — a distinctively Réunion tradition that has developed a dedicated following in France's artisanal spirits market. The infusions use locally grown ingredients: Bourbon vanilla, lychee, passion fruit, pineapple, and indigenous spices like combava (Réunion lime) and cardamom.
Products are packaged in hand-labelled 500ml and 700ml glass bottles for French specialty spirits retailers, online rum enthusiast platforms, and luxury gift hamper companies. RAAR holds a French spirits production licence and complies with EU labelling regulations for alcoholic beverages. Annual production is 25,000–40,000 bottles.
RETF provides export facilitation, documentation management, and market access advisory services for Réunion agricultural producers wishing to develop export markets beyond mainland France. Services include TRACES NT prior notification management, EU phytosanitary certificate coordination with DAAF, freight forwarding at Port Réunion (Le Port), and market access advisory for non-EU destinations (Mauritius, Singapore, Japan, UAE) where Réunion-origin goods are treated as French/EU-origin.
For international buyers outside France wishing to import Réunion geranium oil, vanilla, lychee, or rhum agricole, RETF provides export documentation packages, AOC certification coordination, and logistics arrangement through Port Réunion's container terminal or Roland Garros Airport cargo services.
As a French Overseas Territory, Réunion's regulatory framework is French and EU law. Verification is comparatively straightforward. Follow these five steps.
Réunion's primary agricultural exports are: Géranium Bourbon essential oil (AOC/PDO, the global perfumery benchmark), Bourbon vanilla, lychee (~5,000t to France annually), fresh mango, Victoria pineapple (PDO), Café Bourbon Pointu (AOC, one of the world's rarest coffees), and rhum agricole (AOC). Fishing accounts for ~15% of export income.
Géranium Bourbon (PDO) is cultivated on Réunion's high plateaus (800–1,500m) since 1870. Its GC/MS profile — citronellol ≥20%, geraniol ≥15%, linalool ≥12% — is more complex and prized than Egyptian, Chinese, or Moroccan alternatives. 400 kg of plant material produces 500ml of oil. Purchased by LVMH, Givaudan, Firmenich, IFF, and Symrise.
No. Réunion is a French Overseas Territory and EU Outermost Region — its exports to mainland France are internal EU trade. Réunion's own commodities (geranium oil, vanilla, lychee, mango, rum) are not on the EUDR regulated list. Réunion is entirely EUDR-free.
Réunion is an integral part of France and the EU. French and EU law apply in full. Euro is the currency. Exports to mainland France are internal EU trade (no customs, no import permits). For buyers outside the EU, Réunion goods are EU-origin and benefit from EU trade agreements.
Réunion (formerly Île Bourbon) is where Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old enslaved boy, invented vanilla hand-pollination in 1841 — the technique still used globally. Réunion Bourbon vanilla pods have vanillin ≥1.6% dry weight with a complex floral-creamy scent. Annual production is 15–30 tonnes targeting luxury food and perfume manufacturers.
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