Namibia has recorded a trade deficit of N$4.3 billion for July 2022 as exports stood at N$7.3 billion against imports of N$11.6 billion, with the overall total trade coming in at N$18.9 billion.
In the period under review, the country imported tomatoes worth N$24.6 million from South Africa, which represents a 251.1% increase from July 2021, according to latest figures from the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA).
From July 2021 to July 2022, the average monthly value of Tomato imports was N$9.4 million, with the highest monthly value of N$24.6 million recorded in July 2022.
In July last year, the average price of imported tomatoes was about N$22 million, before gradually increasing to the current levels.
“The tomatoes imported in the month under review were sourced from South Africa. When compared to the corresponding month of last year, import value of tomatoes for the month of July 2022 increased by a notable 251.1%,” said NSA Chief Executive Alex Shimuafeni.
This comes after the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) restricted the importation of 13 horticulture products in July before reducing the list to 10 products in August 2022 to safeguard local farmers from the importation of low-cost goods
However, the Board’s decision is anticipated to result in severe shortages of horticultural products for the rest of this year according to Simonis Storm.
Meanwhile, Namibia’s exports decreased by 14.8% month-on-month in July from N$8.6 billion recorded in June 2022.
Shimuafeni, however, noted that on a year-on-year basis, exports increased by 99.6% from N$3.7 billion registered in July 2021.
“Import value increased by 4.5% and 60.1% when compared to its levels of N$11.1 billion in June 2022 and N$7.2 billion in July 2021, respectively,” he said.
Botswana continued to be the nation’s top export market, taking in 20.5% of all exported goods, followed by South Africa at 19.8%, according to the NSA.
Additionally, three of Namibia’s top five export markets were China, Zambia, and the Netherlands.
