Imports dwarf exports by N$4 billion

Namibia registered a trade deficit of N$4 billion in November 2023, trade statistics released by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) show.

In November 2023, Namibian exports stood at N$11.8 billion and imports at N$15.8 billion, the NSA said.

An analysis showed that petroleum products made up the majority of Namibia’s imports, followed by inorganic chemicals and construction equipment.

“In terms of imports, petroleum oils were the highest valued commodity with a share of 27% of total imports, followed by inorganic chemical elements with a share of 3.4%, while ‘civil engineering and contractors’ equipment’ came in third with a share of 3%,” the NSA said.

Metals drive exports

Namibia’s exports were mainly driven by mineral products in the form of uranium, precious stones and gold.

“The analysis of exports by commodities revealed that uranium had the largest share of 23.3% of Namibia’s total exports, ahead of precious stones with 20.9% and non-monetary gold with a share of 12.3%. Fish accounted for 5.6% in fourth position, and copper and articles of copper came in fifth position, contributing 5.2%,” the NSA said.

Import sources

On the demand side, South Africa remained Namibia’s largest market for goods demanded.

“The demand side saw South Africa maintaining her position as the country’s largest source for imports, accounting for 36.3% of total imports into Namibia, followed by India in second position with 13% of the market share. China, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia also formed part of Namibia’s top five import markets,” the NSA said.

China top export destination

China was Namibia’s top export destination, followed by Belgium and South Africa.

“China emerged as the country’s largest export destination, with a share of 23.9% of all goods exported, followed by Botswana with a share of 22.2%. Furthermore, South Africa, Zambia and Belgium formed part of Namibia’s top five export markets,” the NSA said.

Namibia traded largely with its neighbours in the Southern African Customs Union, trade statistics showed.

“In terms of regional composition, the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) emerged as the largest export market during the month of November 2023, contributing 41.7% to total exports,” the NSA said.

The BRICS countries, consisting of Brazil, India and China, excluding South Africa, were Namibia’s second-biggest export market.

SACU, largest export market

“BRICS countries ranked second with a market share of 24.1%, while Organisation for Economic Development (OECD) countries and the European Union (EU) accounted for 19% and 13.3%, respectively. Southern African Development Community, excluding SACU, absorbed 10% of Namibia’s total exports,” the NSA said.

“On the demand side, SACU maintained its position as the largest source of Namibia’s imports with a share of 37.1% of the total import bill, followed by the BRICS market with a contribution of 21.4%, while the OECD came third in the list with a share of 19.8%,” the NSA added.

Transport nodes

A breakdown of the transport nodes shows that goods were mostly exported out of Namibia using sea transport and imported via road transport, the NSA statistics showed.

“The EU and SADC, excluding SACU markets, had a share of 9.1% and 4.8%, respectively. Namibia’s trade by mode of transport revealed that in November 2023, vast goods were exported via sea transport, accounting for 41.7% of total exports, followed by air transport with 34.8% and road transport with 23.5%,” the NSA said.

“From the demand side, road transport was the most frequent mode of transport, accounting for 49.2% of total imports, followed by sea transport with 47.5% and air transport with 3.3%,” the NSA said.