The country has exported fish worth N$6.2 billion in seven months, a 1.3% increase from N$6.1 billion recorded the same period last year, latest statistics show.
Fish is among Namibia’s top five export products, according to the research firm Simonis Storm, averaging 12.2% of the country’s total exports. This makes the sector a crucial foreign currency earner and export growth supporter.
“In value terms, fish exports decreased by 10.3% in July 2022, compared to a rise of 28.3% y/y in June 2022 year-to-date (YTD) January to July, fish exports totalled N$6.2 billion, compared to N$6.1 billion for the same period in 2021, representing a rise of 1.3% y/y,” Simonis Storm Economist Theo Klein said in the company’s August Agricultural monthly report.
In terms of quantity exported, the firm believes fish production could marginally increase this year on the back of quotas having been given out on time, however, rising operation costs could hamper the sector’s growth.
“In terms of value, the weaker Rand exchange rate should boost the value of fish exports, improving revenues of fishing companies. However, increased costs (e.g. fuel, shipping, wages, etc.) are likely to limit revenue growth. Overall, we remain positive on seeing flat to marginally positive growth in the fishing sector (3.2% of GDP),” Klein said.
Meanwhile, farmgate prices for various horticulture products decreased by an average of 5.5% in August this year, whereas retail prices have decreased by 1.2% on average.
“Farmers experienced price increases of four horticulture products and retailers, eight products. Implying that food prices are driven higher by retail margin increases. Indeed, retailers charge about N$12.25/kg higher than farmgate prices in Namibia,” the report noted.
The Namibian Agronomic Board recently restricted the importation of 10 horticulture products in August 2022 and expanded this list to 11 products for September 2022.
“This is indicative of local supply being insufficient to meet local demand, specifically for beetroots, cabbage, carrots, onions, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, tomato jam, lettuce, spinach and potatoes,” Klein said.
According to the Meat Board, local livestock slaughtering has been fairly flat YTD, but exceeds levels recorded for the same period in 2021 and decreased by 29.4% on average for livestock sectors.
Additionally, YTD, live exports have increased by 30.8% on average compared to the same period last year (January to August), with cattle live exports up 7.9%, sheep live exports surging by 58%and goat live exports increasing by 26.4%.
“Total livestock marketing activity (slaughtering and exports combined) increased by 39.9% y/y in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same quarter in 2021. During the first two months of 2022’s third quarter, total livestock marketing increased by 14.0% y/y compared to the same period last year. This signals that the third quarter of 2022 has great potential in contributing to the livestock sector’s GDP growth rate, supporting the overall agriculture industry’s growth dynamics as livestock accounts for about 35% of the industry,” he said.
