The Namibian government is working to resolve South Africa’s suspension of export permits for Namibian-grown tomatoes, with table grapes now also facing a potential ban.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform (MAFWLR) confirmed that South Africa withdrew export permits for certain Namibian perishable products, including tomatoes, effective September 2025.
The move followed findings by South Africa’s National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPOZA), which cited non-compliance with phytosanitary requirements.
The ministry said it has taken note of South Africa’s decision to withdraw export permits for certain perishable products originating from Namibia, effective August 2025.
Namibia’s National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) has formally requested a bilateral engagement with NPPOZA to clarify the technical concerns and explore interim measures that could enable the resumption of exports.
While an in-person meeting has not yet taken place, the two organisations continue to engage through written correspondence to resolve the issue.
The ministry also confirmed that discussions are ongoing regarding a possible ban on table grape exports to South Africa in 2025, with efforts under way to ensure compliance and restore trade flows as soon as possible.
The dispute began on 11 August 2025 when a Sonop Farms truck was stopped on the Namibian side of the border and informed that the company had allegedly been non-compliant with phytosanitary regulations for several years — a claim the farm said it was unaware of.
Sonop Farms CEO, Albert van der Merwe, said the matter stemmed from an administrative oversight by Namibia’s NPPO rather than any pest outbreak or phytosanitary threat to South African crops.
Later in August, Van der Merwe’s legal representatives successfully argued in the Gauteng High Court that the alleged non-compliance applied broadly to all Namibian producers, not just Sonop Farms, whose export permit had been the only one revoked at the time.
They also argued that South African authorities had not followed due process, having failed to issue formal notification to either Namibia or the affected farm, in breach of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA).
Following the court ruling, Sonop Farms resumed tomato exports to six South African provinces until 18 September, when the South African government announced that all export permits for Namibian fresh produce producers had been withdrawn pending further review.
