Namibia’s trade deficit increased to N$2.2 billion in March this year as exports and imports amounted to N$10.2 billion and N$12.4 billion respectively, latest trade statistics reveal.
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The Namibia Statistics Agency reported a 26.3% increase in exports from the prior month’s value, with Statistician-General Alex Shimuafeni stating that exports rose by 15.3% from N$8.9 billion registered in March 2022.
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However, the country’s trade balance remained in a deficit, worsening by N$1.8 billion (month-on-month) and N$1.7 billion (year-on-year) from N$453 million recorded in February 2023 and N$539 million recorded in March 2022.
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“Namibia’s trade improved when compared to the month of February 2023. However, certain goods contributed more to the monthly deficit with Petroleum oils recording an import bill of N$2.2 billion and a deficit of N$1.7 billion, in second place was ‘Copper ores and concentrates’ with a deficit of N$1.5 billion.
On the other hand, Namibia exported precious stones (diamonds) worth N$3.3 billion and yielding a trade surplus of N$2.9 billion, uranium’s trade surplus stood at N$1.5 billion.”
Botswana emerged as Namibia’s largest export destination, with a share of 21.1% of all goods exported, followed by South Africa with a share of 16.7%.
France, Zambia, and China were also among Namibia’s top five export marketsÂ
On the demand side, South Africa maintained its position as the country’s largest source of imports, accounting for 35.2% of total imports into Namibia, followed by China with 12.6% of the market share.
Peru, the UAE, and Switzerland also formed part of Namibia’s top five import markets.
Precious stones (diamonds) had the largest share of 32.4% in Namibia’s total exports, ahead of uranium with 14.4% and fish with a share of 12.5%.
“In contrast, petroleum oils were the highest valued commodity in terms of imports, with a share of 17.4% of total imports, followed by ‘Copper ores and concentrates’ with a share of 12.4%, while motor vehicles for the transportation of goods came third with a share of 5.0%.”
SACU emerged as the largest export market during the month of February 2023, contributing 37.8% of total exports.
The OECD ranked second with a market share of 30.8%, while the EU and SADC excluding SACU accounted for 24.7% and 14.3%, respectively.
“The COMESA market absorbed 12.6% of Namibia’s total exports. Subsequently, SACU emerged as the largest source of Namibia’s imports, with a share of 35.6% of the total import bill, followed by the OECD market with contributions of 18.3%.”
The EU and EFTA markets had a share of 7.4% and 5.6%, respectively.
“Namibia’s trade by mode of transport revealed that in March 2023, most goods were exported via air, accounting for 42.4% of total exports, followed by sea transport with 34.4% and road transport with 23.2%.”
From the demand side, sea transport was the most frequent.
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