The Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) says the country’s September 2024 imports reached N$14.8 billion, marking the highest monthly total since January this year.
The imports represent a 20.5% increase from the previous month and a 33.7% year-on-year rise compared to the N$11.1 billion recorded in September 2023.
Export totals reached N$9.0 billion, showing a 2.9% month-on-month increase and a 17.4% increase from the same period in 2023, resulting in a trade deficit of N$5.8 billion.
“During the month of September 2024, the country’s trade balance stood at a deficit of N$5.8 billion, compared to a deficit of N$3.6 billion and N$3.4 billion recorded in August 2024 and September 2023, respectively,” said NSA Statistician General Alex Shimuafeni.
According to the Agency’s Trade and Merchandise Statistics, exports by commodity, diamonds took the lead with N$1.8 billion (20.0% of exports), uranium followed at N$1.68 billion (18.7%), and non-monetary gold reached N$1.15 billion (12.8%).
Fish exports stood at N$999 million (11.0%) and petroleum oils at N$500 million (5.6%) during the month under review.
“The composition of the export basket for the month of September 2024 is mainly of minerals such as precious stones (diamond), uranium, non-monetary gold and petroleum oils. Fish remained the only non-mineral product among the top five products exported,” Shimuafeni said.
On the import side, petroleum oils topped the list with a value of N$1.60 billion, accounting for 10.8% of total imports, while ores and concentrates of precious metals represented N$840 million (5.7%) and fertilisers N$770 billion (5.2%).
Copper ores and motor vehicles for goods transportation added N$500 million (3.7%) and N$490 million (3.3%) to total imports.
“On the other hand, the import basket mainly comprised petroleum oils, ores and concentrates of precious metals, fertilisers, copper ores and concentrates, and motor vehicles for the transportation of goods,” he said.
The report further says that South Africa retained its position as Namibia’s leading trade partner, accounting for 20.4% of exports and 37.6% of imports.
Other top export destinations included Botswana (19.2%), China, Zambia, and France, while imports came largely from China (10.6%), Brazil, Chile, and Morocco.
Regional export composition saw SACU as Namibia’s largest market with 39.7% of total exports, followed by OECD countries at 21.8% and the EU at 9.8%. BRIC and MERCOSUR nations contributed 16.9% and 6.5% of total exports, respectively.
Furthermore, in terms of transportation, the majority of exports were shipped by sea (41.9%), followed by air (33.5%) and road (24.6%).
Imports showed a different trend, with road transport handling 52.3% of goods, sea transport 43.6%, and air transport accounting for just 4.0%.
Under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Namibia’s intra-Africa trade for the period revealed the country as a net importer.
Namibia also experienced trade deficits in food items and beverages, importing N$139 million in food items and N$186 million in beverages more than it exported.
The focus commodity for September was Namibia’s trade in ice cream and other edible ice.
The country exported N$405 worth of ice cream to the Democratic Republic of Congo, while imports of the same commodity were valued at N$9.8 million, primarily from South Africa.
Monthly imports of ice cream averaged N$7.4 million from September 2023 to September 2024.
