Namibia’s trade deficit declines to N$299 million

Business Reporter

DURING December 2023, Namibia’s export earnings recorded a decrease of 1.9% from N$11.8 billion recorded in November 2023 to N$11.5 billion.

Moreover, the import bill for the month under review decreased by 25.0% from N$15.8 billion recorded during the preceding month, resulting in an improved trade deficit of N$299 million when compared to a trade deficit of N$4.0 billion recorded in November 2023.

This is according to the latest Merchandise Trade Statistics Bulletin released by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) for December 2023. Statistician General at the NSA, Alex Shimuafeni, explained that Namibia’s trade composition by partner showed that Botswana emerged as Namibia’s largest market for exports, while South Africa maintained its position as the country’s main supplier.

“The composition of the export basket for December 2023 mainly comprised minerals such as Precious stones (diamonds), Non-monetary gold, and Uranium. Fish and ‘Fruits and nuts’ were the only non-mineral products within the top five products exported. On the other hand, the import basket mainly comprised Petroleum oils, Fertilizers, Motor vehicles for the transportation of goods, ‘Civil engineering and contractors’ equipment,’ and ‘Other machinery and equipment specialized for particular industries’,” Shimuafeni said.

He added that for the month under review, re-exports increased by 0.6% month-on-month and 13.7% year-on-year. The re-exports basket mainly comprised ‘Copper and articles of copper’, Petroleum oils, and Precious stones (diamonds). On the analysis of commodity of the month, Namibia exported Beer worth N$98.1 million during the month under review.