The Namibian trade balance recorded a deficit of N.dollars 119 million (about $6.3 million), the lowest recorded last year, according to the latest data from the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA).
“According to the breakdown of Namibia's trade by partner, South Africa continued to be the country's top import market, while China remained the top export market,” said Statistician General Alex Shimuafeni.
Shimuafeni said Namibia's top exports in December 2024 consisted of diamonds, uranium, and non-monetary gold, with fish, fruit, and nuts being the only non-mineral products.
According to the Namibia International Merchandise Trade Statistics Bulletin for December 2024, re-exports saw a 4.9% decline month-on-month while noting a 50.1% increase year-on-year.
Shimuafeni said that the re-exports basket consisted mainly of diamonds, copper and articles of copper, nickel ores and concentrates, petroleum oils and fertilizers. Meanwhile, Namibia imported mostly petroleum oils, fertilizers, precious stones (diamonds), inorganic chemical elements and ores and concentrates of base metals during December last year.
According to the report, Namibia’s export earnings for December 2024 stood at N.dollars 12.6 billion ($674.7 million), reflecting an increase of 3.4% from N.dollars 12.2 billion ($653.3 million) recorded in November 2024.
The country’s import bill for the same month stood at N.dollars 12.7 billion ($680.1 million), a 28% decrease from N.dollars 17.6 billion ($942.5 million) recorded during the preceding month.
“International merchandise trade plays a crucial role in economic development as it links producers and consumers located in different countries into a unified global market system,” Shimuafeni said about the need for NSA to release monthly trade statistics reports.