The manufacturing of beverages category consists of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. This includes a range of soft beverages (water, juices), a range of non-alcoholic beverages (coffee, tea), and alcoholic beverages (beers, ciders). Although Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) produces a variety of alcoholic beverages, beer is the most significant beverage comprising 95.2% of total volumes. According to the Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) annual report 2021, the company exports products to 18 countries including South Africa and its workforce consisted of about 796 employees. The production of beverages contributed around 9.5% to manufacturing on average between 2010 and 2020 (See figure 1). The lowest production of beverages specifically beer was recorded in April and May 2020 as a result of a ban on alcohol as a means to curb the spread of Covid-19. The production picked up from October reaching its highest in December 2020 owing to the festive season (See figure 2)
Namibia has accumulatively imported products of this category worth N$ 2.5 billion while exports were valued at N$ 1.9 billion since May 2021. The highest import figure of N$ 270 million was recorded in November 2021 while the lowest figure of N$ 156 million was registered in July 2021. The country imported beverages products amounting to N$ 185 million during May 2022 while the exported products value amounted to N$ 119 million. The products imported comprised wine accounting for 22% of the total imports, followed by whiskies with 12%, and waters, mineral waters, and aerated waters accounting for 7%. These products were imported from countries such as Serbia (87.4%), followed by Sweden (5.3%), France (4.8%), and Tanzania (0.7%). The products exported comprised beer which accounted for 78% of the total exports, followed by whiskies with 11%, and other fermented beverages accounting for 1.1%. The top export destination for beverages was South Africa (94.0%) followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (1.5%), Zimbabwe (1.2%), and Zambia (0.9%) (See figure 3).
Figure 1: Beverages % contribution to the Manufacturing Sector (2010 – 2020)
Figure 2: Beverages Production (Jan 2020 – May 2022)
Figure 3: Imports and Exports of Beverages products (N$) Value (May 2021 – May 2022)
