Namibia has exported goods valued at N.dollars 8.3 billion and imported N.dollars 11.9 billion worth of goods, resulting in the country’s trade deficit of N.dollars 3.7 billion in July 2023.

The Namibian Merchandise Trade Statistics Bulletin for July 2023, issued by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) on Tuesday, said the country’s export earnings decreased by 3.8 per cent from N.dollars 8.6 billion recorded in the previous month to N.dollars 8.3 billion.

The report indicated that the imports for the month under review increased by 17.8 per cent when compared to the value recorded in June 2023, and by 12.5 per cent compared to its value of N.dollars 10.6 billion recorded in July 2022.

It further revealed that diamonds had the largest share of 30.5 per cent of Namibia’s total exports, ahead of uranium with 15.2 per cent and fish with a share of 13.7 per cent, whilst non-monetary gold accounted for 11.0 per cent in fourth position and petroleum oils came in fifth position, contributing 4.4 per cent.

The report further indicated that petroleum oils were the highest valued commodity with a share of 15.3 per cent of total imports, followed by copper ores and concentrates with a share of 11.7 per cent, while motor vehicles for the transport of goods came third with a share of 4.0 per cent. Civil engineering and contractors’ equipment and motor vehicles for the transport of persons contributed 3.4 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively.

It noted that Botswana emerged as the country’s largest export destination, with a share of 23.3 per cent of all goods exported, followed by South Africa with a share of 19.6 per cent, then China, Zambia and Spain as Namibia’s top five export markets.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency