Namibia’s food trade recorded a surplus in May 2025, primarily driven by strong fish exports, which reached N$1.3 billion and accounted for 76.9% of total food exports, the highest contributor to the country’s food export basket.
According to Namibia Statistics Agency’s (NSA) Trade Statistics for the month of May,Meat and edible meat offal followed with exports valued at N$219 million. Preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk, including pastrycooks’ products, contributed N$42 million, while edible fruits and nuts, including citrus peel and melon rind accounted for N$37 million.
Lastly, preparations of meat, fish, crustaceans, molluscs, or other aquatic invertebrates brought in N$28 million. These five categories collectively represented the bulk of the country’s food export basket for the month.
“The month under review saw the country recording a trade surplus on Food items to the value of N$420 million. The surplus on Food items was mainly attributed to Fish exports, which stood at N$1.3 billion,” the report read
It is further reported that on the import side, sugar and sugar confectionery dominated Namibia’s food imports, with a total value of N$197 million. This was followed by preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk; pastrycooks’ products, which were valued at N$122 million while Miscellaneous edible preparations ranked third, contributing N$108 million.
Other notable imports included residues and waste from the food industries; prepared animal fodder, which stood at N$96 million (7.8%), and animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products, valued at N$93 million, contributing 7.5% of the total.
“On the demand side, sugar and sugar confectionery dominated the import list with a share of 15.9% while Preparations of cereals and Miscellaneous edible preparations took the second and third positions having accounted for 9.8 percent and 8.7% respectively of the Food items. The top five imported Food items accounted for 49.7% of the basket during the month under review,” it is reported.
Furthermore, between May 2024 and May 2025, Namibia recorded an average monthly food trade surplus of N$230 million. The largest surpluses were noted in December 2024 which was N$669 million, April 2025 which accounted for N$544 million, and N$510 million in May 2024. Deficits were recorded in only three months: September which recorded N$139 million, October recorded N$166 million, and November 2024 recorded N$258 million .
In the beverage category, imports averaged N$319 million monthly, with the highest value recorded in November 2024 at N$489 million. Beverage exports averaged N$118 million over the same period, peaking at N$189 million in July 2024 and hitting a low of N$62 million in April 2025.
May’s commodity of the month was petroleum jelly (Vaseline), the country exported Vaseline valued at N$3,100, with shipments destined for Greece and the Cayman Islands during the period under study. On the other hand, the value of imports for this commodity was said to have amounted to N$4.9 million, mainly from South Africa. It was further noted that the average value of Vaseline imports from May 2024 to May 2025 was approximately N$3.7 million, with the highest import value recorded in July 2024 at N$5.9 million and the lowest in April 2025 at N$1.1 million.
