Namibia‘s export revenues increased by 9.4% in January this year, totaling N$12 billion.
This is up from the N$10.9 billion recorded in December 2023.
According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), the import bill for the month under review increased by 16.3% from N$11.8 billion the previous month, resulting in a worsened trade deficit of N$1.8 billion when compared to a trade deficit of N$885 million in December 2023.
Alex Shimuafeni, the NSA’s chief executive and statistician general, issued the bulletin, stating that Namibia’s exports were N$12.0 billion in January 2024, up from N$7.8 billion the previous year.
“On the import side, the value of trade for the month under study amounted to N$13,8 billion, an increase of N$3,0 billion when compared to January 2023,” he says.
He claims that the monthly increase in goods exports was primarily driven by uranium, which grew by N$3.1 billion, civil engineering and contractors and equipment, which jumped by N$189 million, and base metal ores and concentrates, which increased by N$181 million.
Nickel ores and concentrates also surged by N$172 million, while fish exports grew by N$164 million.
This is in contrast to the monthly increase in imported goods, which was primarily reflected in copper ores and concentrates, which increased by N$2.9 billion; inorganic chemical elements, which increased by N$282 million; and motor vehicles for human transportation, which increased by N$185 million.
The NSA reports that imported civil engineering and contractor equipment grew by N$118 million, while nickel ores and concentrates increased by N$113 million.
According to the report, in January 2024, the mining and quarrying industry had the highest export of goods valued at N$6,3 billion, accounting for 53% of overall exports, and the industry’s products climbed by N$1.6 billion over the previous month.
The manufacturing industry ranked second with 41.3% of overall exports in January 2024, with exports declining by N$120 million month on month.
“Furthermore, agriculture, forestry and fishing ranked third, contributing 4,1% of the total exports.”
According to the NSA bulletin, Namibia’s trade deficits between January 2023 and January 2024 averaged N$2.6 billion.
In January 2024, Namibia had trade surpluses of N$2.8 billion with China, N$1.7 billion with Botswana, and N$782 million with Canada.
During the assessment period, trade deficits versus South Africa, Peru, and Bulgaria totaled N$1.5 billion apiece.
Namibia’s trade balance deteriorated in January this year, compared to the previous month.
Copper ores and concentrates contributed the most to the trade imbalance, at N$2.9 billion.
Petroleum oils came in second with a deficit of N$2.2 billion, followed by inorganic chemical elements with a deficit of N$373 million.
Namibia, on the other side, exported N$3.8 billion worth of uranium, resulting in a N$3.8 billion trade surplus.
Precious stones (diamonds) and non-monetary gold ranked second and third, with trade surpluses of N$1.5 billion and N$1.3 billion, respectively.