Namibia recorded a trade deficit of N$2.1 billion in July 2024, with exports at N$10.0 billion and imports at N$12.0 billion, official data shows.
According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) latest trade data, during the month, exports decreased by 23.5% from N$13.0 billion recorded in June 2024 and increased by 21.2% when compared to July 2023.
“The import value decreased by 12.2% when compared to the value recorded in June 2024 and increased by 1.0% when compared to the value of N$11.9 billion recorded in July 2023,” said the NSA.
China emerged as the country’s largest export destination, with a share of 27.6% of all goods exported, followed by South Africa with a share of 21.4%.
Zambia, Botswana and Spain formed part of Namibia’s top five export markets.
“The demand side saw South Africa maintaining her position as the country’s largest source for imports, accounting for 42.1% of total imports into Namibia followed by China in second position with 12.2% of the market share,” said NSA’s trade bulletin.
The United Arab Emirates, India and Zambia formed part of Namibia’s top five import markets.
Meanwhile, during the month, the manufacturing sector took the first position with the largest export of goods valued at N$5.6 billion, absorbing 55.9% of total exports. Products from the industry increased by N$160 million when compared to the previous month.
“The mining and quarrying sector came in second position with a share of 39.0% of the total exports in July 2024. Exported goods from this industry decreased by N$3.1 billion when compared to the previous month,” NSA added.
Furthermore, the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector ranked third, contributing 4.3% of the total exports of goods.
The demand side was largely dominated by products from the manufacturing industry, with an import bill of N$8.9 billion recorded in July 2024, a slight increase of 0.3% when compared to June 2024.
In second position was the mining and quarrying industry which stood at N$2.7 billion during the month under review, a decrease of N$1.9 billion when compared to the preceding month.
Lastly, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry occupied the third position with imports valued at N$445 million during the month under review.
In terms of regional composition, BRIC emerged as the largest export market during July 2024, contributing 28.2% to total exports.
On the demand side, SACU maintained its position as the largest source of Namibia’s imports with a share of 42.9% of the total.
Meanwhile, Namibia’s trade by mode of transport revealed that in July 2024, vast goods were exported via sea transport, accounting for 53.3% of total exports, followed by road transport at 28.6% and air transport at 18.1%.
From the demand side, road transport was the most frequent mode of transport accounting for 58.4 % of total imports followed by sea transport with 37.4% and air transport with 4.1%.
On the African Continental Free Trade Area, the focus country was Burundi and for the month under review, Namibia was a net importer between the two countries.
