Namibia’s fish exports amounted to N$1,141 million in June 2024, with fish remaining the country’s only non-mineral product among the top five exports, latest data shows.
According to Simonis Storm data, fish exports accounted for a significant 8.8% of the nation’s total export earnings, reinforcing the sector’s critical role in generating foreign exchange and supporting livelihoods.
Spain, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo emerged as the primary markets for Namibian fish products.
“In June 2024, fish inflation was recorded at 4.6% y/y, marking a deceleration from the 6.7% y/y observed in May 2024 and 11.7% y/y recorded in June 2023. The inflation within the fish category was primarily driven by rising prices for bottled and tinned fish, as well as fresh, chilled, and frozen fish,” said Simonis Storm Researcher Halleluya Ndimulunde.
However, other segments, such as dried, smoked, or salted fish and seafood, experienced deflationary pressures, with prices declining by -6.3% y/y.
“Despite the overall elevated inflation in the fish sector, a downward trend has been evident since the inflation peaked in January 2024,” she said.
This comes as the agriculture sector witnessed modest growth in the first quarter of 2024, with a gross domestic product of N$1.0 billion, translating to 1.6% y/y growth.
“This represents a recovery from the previous quarter’s sharp decline of -7.3% y/y, though it falls slightly below the 1.9% y/y growth recorded in the first quarter of 2023,” said Ndimulunde.
The sector contributed approximately 3.1% to overall economic growth during this period, the lowest percentage share of GDP since the first quarter of 2017.
“The tepid growth can largely be attributed to challenges in crop farming due to insufficient rainfall and a slowdown in livestock growth, stemming from reduced slaughtering activities,” she said.
The fishing sector also experienced a slow pace of growth in the first quarter of 2024, with a 2.2% y/y increase, contributing 3.1% to GDP.
Ndimulunde said this growth was primarily driven by an uptick in hake landings, although this was somewhat offset by a decline in horse mackerel landings.
Meanwhile, livestock marketing continues on a positive trajectory, with the first half of 2024 showing robust performance, particularly in response to ongoing drought conditions.
The cattle, sheep, and goat sectors favoured live exports over slaughtering, while pig slaughtering remained predominant.
“In terms of livestock marketing, cattle saw a substantial increase of 40.2%, with 198,712 heads marketed compared to 141,687 in the first half of 2023. Sheep marketing also expanded by 13.0%, reaching 507,456 heads, while goat marketing experienced a modest rise of 2.9%, totalling 60,514 heads,” she said.
The pig sector showed an 8.5% increase in marketing during the first half of 2024. Live exports demonstrated remarkable growth, particularly in the cattle sector, where exports surged by 61.9%, reaching 109,227 heads.
Sheep live exports also rose by 21.5%, largely driven by demand from South Africa, while goat exports increased by 6.2%, maintaining their traditional market in KwaZulu-Natal, as reported by the Livestock and Livestock Products Board.
Pig exports, however, remained minimal, with only 70 heads exported in 2024, a slight change from none in 2023.
Slaughtering trends presented a mixed picture. Cattle slaughtering increased by 20.4%, totalling 89,485 heads.
