Namibia imported goods amounting to N.dollars 4.8 billion from South Africa, compared to goods exported valued at N.dollars 1.5 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of N.dollars 3.3 billion in November 2022.
The Namibia Trade Statistics bulletin for November 2022 issued on Wednesday by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) said other countries that mainly contributed to the overall monthly trade deficit are India and Italy, having recorded trade deficits valued at N.dollars 804 million and N.dollars 402 million, respectively.
It indicated that South African imports represented 45.6 per cent of all goods received into the country during the month under review, followed by China with a contribution of 9.2 per cent, whilst India came third, accounting for 7.8 per cent of total imports. Meanwhile, the United States of America and Italy came fourth and fifth, contributing 4.4 per cent and 4.0 per cent respectively.
The report further noted that petroleum oils contributed mostly to the high import bill valued at N.dollars 1.5 billion, motor vehicles for the transportation of goods were N.dollars 427 million, and miscellaneous chemical products valued at N.dollars 315 million during the month under review.
It said Namibia’s top five export markets were Botswana, absorbing 26.2 per cent of all goods exported, followed by South Africa with a market share of 16.7 per cent, while China and Zambia ranked third and fourth with a relative share of 14.8 per cent and 6.4 per cent, respectively. Belgium occupied the fifth position with a share of 5.3 per cent.
The report equally revealed that precious stones (diamonds) were Namibia’s largest export commodity during November 2022, accounting for 30.3 per cent of total exports mostly destined to Botswana, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong.
It added that uranium and non-monetary gold came second and third in the list, accounting for 17.5 per cent and 8.8 per cent of total exports respectively. The bulletin noted that uranium was mainly destined to China and France, while non-monetary gold was destined for South Africa.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
