Namibia’s trade deficit widened significantly to N$3.9 billion in February 2024 compared to January 2024 and February 2023 figures which stood at N$1.8 billion and N$452 million respectively, official data shows.
The country’s export earnings plunged 48.9% from N$12 billion recorded in January 2024 to N$6.1 billion, while imports saw a decrease of 27% during the same period, latest data from the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) shows.
According to the NSA, the deficit can be attributed to a decrease in petroleum oils, recording a deficit of N$827 million, followed by motor vehicles which ranked second with a deficit of N$335 million, and nickel ores and concentrates were in third place with a deficit of N$316 million.
NSA highlighted that Namibia achieved a trade surplus by exporting fish worth N$1.4 billion, resulting in a surplus of N$1.3 billion.
Additionally, non-monetary gold and copper and articles of copper occupied the second and third positions in terms of trade surpluses, valued at N$1.1 billion and N$915 million, respectively.
The NSA report further states that the country experienced a decrease in the export of specific commodities such as uranium, which decreased by N$3.8 billion.
During the period under review, exports of precious stones, particularly diamonds, saw a decrease of N$1.2 billion, civil engineering and contractors’ equipment witnessed a decrease of N$219 million while non-monetary gold exports decreased by N$215 million and ores and concentrates of base metal exports declined by N$206 million.
Despite the decline, the report further states that manufacturing goods worth N$4.9 billion were exported out of the country, accounting for 80.1% of the total export value.
Following closely behind, the mining and quarrying sector contributed 12.5% to the total export value while agriculture, forestry, and fishing rounded out the top three sectors, collectively accounting for 6% of the total export value.
Namibia also experienced a decrease in import of certain commodities namely copper ores and concentrates decreased by N$2.9 billion, petroleum oils imports decreased by N$1.6 billion during the month under review.
Imports of inorganic chemical elements decreased by N$270 million and civil engineering and contractors’ equipment imports saw a decrease of N$138 million. Motor cars for transportation of persons also experienced a decline, decreasing by N$113 million.
Meanwhile, South Africa emerged as Namibia’s paramount trading partner, serving as both a market for exports and a primary source of imports.
Namibia experiencing trade surpluses with Belgium, Botswana, and Spain while deficits were recorded against China, and the United States of America.
According to the report, Namibia’s primary export destinations during the reviewed month were OECD, SACU, and the EU, contributing 35.6%, 33.2%, and 31.7%, respectively to the total exports.
The SADC excluding SACU and COMESA regions followed, accounting for 21.2% and 18.9% of the total exports, respectively.
On the other hand, SACU remained the largest source of imports for Namibia, contributing 43.0% of the total imports.
OECD ranked second, accounting for 20.8% of all goods imported, BRIC and the EU occupied the third and fourth positions, contributing 12.3% and 9.9% of total imports, respectively. The COMESA market held the fifth position, contributing 6.6% to total imports.
NSA reported that a total of 293,406 tons of goods were exported during February 2024, indicating a 3.0% decrease compared to January 2024 but a 3.3% increase compared to February 2023.
Exports totaling N$2.7 billion, accounting for 44.4% of total exports, were shipped out of Namibia via sea while road transportation accounted for 31.2% of total exports and air transportation contributed 24.5% to total exports.
Imports totaled 363,605 tons during the month under review, decreasing by 23.6% compared to January 2024 but increasing by 21.4% compared to February 2023.
Road transportation was the primary mode for imports with goods valued at N$6.4 billion, representing 63.7% of total imports. Sea transport followed with 30.0% of imports while air transportation accounted for 6.2% of total imports.
