Namibia exported N$1.7 billion worth of diamonds in March 2024, accounting for 20.4% of the total export value, which reached N$8.3 billion, latest figures show.
According to the International Merchandise Trade Statistics Bulletin (IMTS) released by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), the export growth is compared to N$6.1 billion in February 2024, resulting in a trade deficit of N$4.5 billion.
Other major exports included fish with a surplus of N$1.2 billion (15.5%), non-monetary gold’s surplus reached N$902 million (10.8%), copper and articles of copper (8.3%), and nickel ores and concentrates increased by N$489 million (5.9%).
The report further states that on a year-to-year basis, Namibia’s cumulative exports for March 2024 remained relatively flat at N$26.2 billion compared to N$26.1 billion in March 2023.
South Africa remained Namibia’s top export destination accounting for 20.6%, followed by Botswana at 17.7%. Zambia, France, and Belgium rounded out the top five.
Interestingly, the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) was the largest regional export market (38.3%), followed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (31.4%) and the European Union (EU) (25.6%).
SADC, excluding SACU, absorbed 17.2% of Namibia’s exports, taking fourth place, and lastly COMESA came in fifth with 15.4% of total exports.
On the other hand, the report states that imports rose by 27.9%, reaching N$10.0 billion in March compared to the previous month resulting in a wider trade deficit of N$4.5 billion, up from N$3.9 billion in February 2024.
Petroleum oils topped the list of imports, accounting for 20.6% of the total value. South Africa was the leading source of imports (36.2%), followed by China (7.6%).
Peru, Belgium, and Bahrain also ranked among Namibia’s top import partners. SACU remained the dominant import source regionally (36.8%), followed by the OECD (23.2%) and the EU (13.9%).
BRIC and COMESA markets had shares of 13.1% and 4.1%, respectively.
Road transport was the most used mode of import (54.2%), while sea transport was the preferred mode for exports (40.1%). Air transport played a smaller role in both imports (5.0%) and exports (33.5%).
The report also says that Namibia exported N$97.3 million worth of live sheep, meat and sheep products in the month under review, mainly to South Africa. Imports of the commodity averaged N$72.5 million monthly over the period March 2023 to March 2024.
