Analysis
- Namibia’s trade activities increased for 2022 in relation to 2021. Total exports for 2022 stood at N$96.4 billion, representing an increase of 46.3% from N$65.9 billion recorded in 2021 (See figure 1)
- In December 2022, the mining and quarrying exported goods to the value of N$4.3 billion, absorbing 49.7 percent of total exports followed by products from the manufacturing industry with an export value of N$3.2 billion
- Precious stones (diamonds) had the largest share in Namibia’s total exports ahead of uranium, followed by fish, non-monetary gold, and lastly fruits and nuts accounted for the least share
- Similarly imports depict an increase of 34.8% from N$128.3 billion compared to N$95.2 billion recorded in 2021 (See figure 2)
- The demand side was largely dominated by products from the manufacturing industry, with an import bill of N$6.8 billion while the mining and quarrying goods imported accounted for 27.9% of total imports for the month of December 2022
- Commodities that contributed most to the import bill during the month of December 2022 were petroleum oils, precious stones (diamonds), and motor vehicles for the transportation of goods
- Namibia recorded a trade deficit of N$1.1 billion for December 2022, reflecting an improvement of 59.5% and 49.9% when compared to the trade deficits recorded in November 2022 and December 2021 respectively (See figure 3). The improved trade deficit resulted mainly from a decline in the import bill
- The country did not record any trade surplus over the period of 2021 to 2022
Figure 1: Total exports value (N$ m), 2021 vs 2022
Figure 2: Total import value (N$ m), 2021 vs 2022
Figure 3: Trade balance (N$ m), 2021 vs 2022
Outlook
With Namibia being heavily reliant on international trade (imports), the country remains vulnerable tocommodityprice shocks brought by the confluence of factors in the global economic environment. Additionally, the continuous trade deficits and capital outflow could weigh on the economic recovery of the country, hence investment in value addition and incentives for local producers remains crucial for Namibia’s trade. We project the trade balance to remain subdued in the short to medium term.